Thinking of You
by lauren3210
Summary: Elena is ready to get her own life started now that she has finished raising her younger brother.  But, will she be able to impress her sexy, but scary, new boss?  More to the point, does she want to? AU/AH.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, I decided to try and write an AU/AH fic. I was reading a book recently, and the characters just really reminded me of Damon and Elena, so I thought I would try to do something similar. The plot will closely follow the book of the same name, by the talented author Jill Mansell, although there will be some obvious differences. I hope you enjoy it, and please review!

A/N 2: For the people who have been reading my other fic _The Evil Within_, it is coming, I promise. I'm in hospital on my laptop at the moment, and chapter 6 is sitting on the desktop of my other computer. I'm hoping to upload it tomorrow.

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><p><em>Thinking of You<em>

_Chapter One_

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><p>If it was sympathy she was after, Elena Gilbert might have known she'd come to the wrong place. Then again, it was early on a bright but blustery Saturday morning in autumn and her options were limited. And it was only a few blocks from her own house, which was handy.<p>

"I can't describe how I feel." She clenched a fist, pressed it to her breastbone and shook her head in frustration. "I know it's weird, I know I should just let him go off on his own and enjoy life, but it's just so... so..."

"I know exactly what it is. Bird's nest syndrome," said Caroline.

Elena rolled her eyes and corrected her friend. "Bird's nest syndrome would be the name for the state of my hair when I get up in the mornings. You mean 'empty nest syndrome', but that's not right either, because it wasn't my nest to begin with, and the baby that grew up and flew away wasn't mine either." She frowned as the analogy stopped making sense.

"Well, I think you're mad." Caroline was busy executing Olympic-level sit-ups, her bare feet tucked under the edge of the cream leather sofa, her blond curls swinging glossily to and fro. "Jeremy's gone off to university. You're free again. You should be out there celebrating. You're twenty-two, not eighty." Having completed her 10 millionth sit-up, Caroline raised her legs in the air and started bicycling furiously. "It's about time you started getting out there and having fun."

Elena knew she should be feeling excited about this new chapter in her life, but she couldn't help but feel bereft at the sudden lack of purpose in her life. When both her parents had tragically died in a car crash when she was just seventeen, her aunt Jenna had moved in with her and Jeremy to look after them. The arrangement hadn't lasted long. Jenna had floundered in her sudden role of care-giver, and as soon as Elena had turned eighteen, she had told her very relieved aunt that she could take over from there. Jenna had moved back to her university campus, with the promise that she could be reached if either of the Gilberts ever needed anything. Elena had breathed a sigh of relief; now she could concentrate on dragging her brother back out of the pit of despair he had dug himself into, without having to worry about giving Jenna any feelings of inadequacy. She had spent the last four years dedicating herself to getting Jeremy to this point in his life, but now that it was finally here, she found herself becoming anxious at what her own future might hold now. It had been so long since she had only herself to concentrate on that now she found the idea quite terrifying.

"You need to pull yourself together." Caroline finished her exercises and stood up, checking her reflection in the large mirror on the wall. "Cheer yourself up, get yourself out there and have an adventure. Jeremy would want that for you."

"I know, I just miss him. I just really want to talk to him, make sure he's okay." Elena hated feeling like this. She had never been needy in her life, and the idea was as horrifying to her as suddenly developing a penchant for pickles.

"Fine. Call him then, if that's what you want to do." Caroline started walking towards the bathroom. "If you think Jeremy won't mind."

Elena smiled inwardly; she'd got what she'd come for. "Right, I will. Thanks Care." She gave her friend a hug, then left her to shower.

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><p>Letting herself in through the front door of her house, she found herself being attacked by a large ball of fur. "Campbell!" She cooed, leaning down to stroke the spaniel behind his ears. She had bought the little dog the day after Jenna had left, deciding that Jeremy needed some responsibility in his life. It had worked too; having to look after a dog had given Jeremy something other than his own misery to concentrate on, and Elena had been able to get through to him easier. Jeremy had really wanted to take Campbell with him when he left for campus, but dogs weren't allowed. Elena sighed at the little dog as he wetly licked her chin. "You missing Jer too, boy? Wanna hear his voice?" The dog woofed his agreement, and followed Elena as she entered the living room. She slumped down on the cushions and picked up the cordless phone, Campbell jumping up and lying next to her. The phone rang for a while as Elena waited for someone to pick it up at the other end. "'lo?" Came a sleepy voice.<p>

"Jer? Is that you?"

"Mm-hmm. Who is... Elena?" Jeremy's voice got stronger as he recognised his sister's voice.

"Yeah, it's me. I didn't pull you away from studying, did I?" Elena struggled to hold Campbell back as he heard his master's voice coming through the speaker.

Jeremy laughed a little, then his voice became muffled for a moment. Elena could hear him talking, so she guessed he'd covered the receiver to talk to someone in his dorm room. "No, I wasn't studying, it's Saturday!" Elena swore she could actually hear his eyes roll at her question. "I was still sleeping," Jeremy continued. "We had a bit of a late night last night, so-"

"Why? What were you up to?" Elena interrupted him, worry starting to gnaw at her, as she imagined the wild parties that happened regularly in college.

"'Lena," Jeremy's voice took on a warning tone, "you promised you weren't going to nag me about this stuff, remember?"

Elena did remember, but she couldn't help worrying. It had taken her nearly two years to get Jeremy to stop taking drugs, and another two to help him get his grades up enough to graduate. "I know Jer, just... be careful, 'kay?"

"Elena, don't. I'm doing fine, but I'm never going to be able to get on with my life with constantly looking over my shoulder." He sighed, and then went on gently. "Look, I'll call you if I need anything alright? I just... I need to do some things on my own, you know?"

Elena nodded, clearing her throat. "Okay. Look after yourself."

"You too, sis."

Elena sighed as she put the phone down. "Well, that didn't go exactly as planned, did it?" She leaned her forehead down and pressed it against Campbell's silky head. "Good thing I've still got you boy, huh? What would I do without you?"

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><p>Campbell died three weeks later. According to the vet, he had developed cancer, and it had spread through his little body so quickly that by the time Elena had noticed there was something wrong, there was nothing that could be done to help him. Jeremy came home the following weekend, and together they buried him under his favourite tree in the backyard. He couldn't stay for too long though, as he had mid-terms coming up that he couldn't afford to miss, and Elena was left with a very empty house, and a just as empty heart.<p>

A week later, and Elena was still feeling down, so she decided to cheer herself up by doing some Christmas shopping. She drove to the nearby mall, and spent a pleasant afternoon picking out presents for Jeremy, Caroline, Jenna and Alaric, her aunt's husband. She was just looking through the window of a toy store, wondering what to buy Lucy, Jenna and Alaric's two year old daughter, when she saw someone walking up behind her in the reflection of the glass. It was Mason Lockwood. She sighed and closed her eyes briefly. He had been asking her out for a while now, getting more and more insistent, no matter how firmly she put him down. She couldn't deal with it today. Eyeing up the stores closest to her, she dashed inside a little boutique, hoping the girlishness of the window display would put him off following her. She was right; as she looked out of the window, she watched him hesitate outside the shop door, before backing away slightly and lean against the wall. _Was he waiting for her to come out?_ With a sigh, she resigned herself to looking around at the trinkets on display. She wandered around the store for a while, making sure to keep an eye on Mason through the window. She came across a pretty purple and pink elephant, set with dozens of tiny rhinestones, and picked it up to look at the price. What she saw startled her, and she looked around at the rest of the items, her lips parting in astonishment as she realised she could easily blow what was left of her inheritance in this shop. She looked out of the window again, and noticed that Mason had given up; his perch by the wall was empty. She let out a breath of relief, then looked around the store one last time to see if there was anything in there she might be able to afford. As she did, her eyes fell upon a man standing near the counter. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a dark gray shirt, black jeans and black boots completing the look. Her eyes slid upwards to one of the most beautiful faces she had ever seen. Pale skin, perfectly sculpted lips, cheekbones that could have been chiselled in marble, all framed under a shock of raven black hair. The most hypnotising part of the man were his eyes; cobalt blue, so deep Elena felt she could drown in them if she stared long enough. Eyes that were looking right at _her._ He flicked his gaze up and down her briefly, before shrugging and turning away. Elena came back to earth with a bump. Of course someone like him wouldn't be interested in someone like her. She pulled herself together and walked out of the shop, just wanting to get home and curl up with some ice cream.

She had only gone a few dozen steps however, when she felt a cool hand on her arm. Thinking it was Mason, she turned, opening her mouth to tell him to get lost. She could only gasp when she saw who it actually was.

"I saw you, you know." His voice was like velvet, and the very sound of it made Elena go weak at the knees. His hand was still on her arm.

"I... I saw you too." She whispered breathlessly. Up close he even smelled fantastic. Whatever aftershave that was, it was definitely her favourite.

"Shall we go?" He said, looking at her intensely.

"Go?" Go where? Surely he wasn't asking her to go home with him? She didn't even know his name!

"Back to the shop."

The shop? Did he own it? Or live above it? Unbidden, fantasies started swirling through her mind of four poster beds and cream silk drapes, the breeze on her bare skin as it fluttered in through the open window – because in her mind it was a hot evening in summer.

"Come on, do yourself a favour and give up." His hand slid down her arm towards her hand. "You might be good, but you're not that good." He drawled.

Her mind skidded to a halt mid-fantasy as she struggled to work out what he meant. Confused, but not confused enough to not notice the sparks of electricity shooting up her arm at his touch, she watched as he raised her hand and uncurled her fingers, revealing the elephant she had been looking at earlier.

She stared at her hand for a moment, before letting out a gasp. "Oh my God! I can't believe I just did that! Thank goodness you noticed! I'll take it straight back and explain..." She trailed off as she noticed him gazing at her coldly. "Now look," Elena said, trying unsuccessfully to pull her hand out of his grip. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

"I despise shoplifters. I hope they prosecute you." The man said, his voice completely devoid of emotion.

"But I'm not a shop lifter! I've never stolen anything in my life! Oh God, I can't believe you actually think that!" Aware that other shoppers in the mall were taking notice of the conversation, some even slowing down to listen avidly, Elena turned and walked stiffly back to the shop, the man hot on her heels, evidently ready to tackle her if she tried to escape. Her face turning bright red, she shoved the little statue at the saleswoman behind the desk, mumbling an apology.

"Sounds quite convincing doesn't she?" The man said to the saleswoman. "But I saw the way she was acting when she was in here, before she tried to get away."

"Please don't say that." Tears began to form in her eyes, and she looked desperately at the woman. "It was an accident, I didn't mean to take it, I just wasn't concentrating."

"Obviously," the man said, "otherwise you wouldn't have gotten caught."

"Oh will you SHUT UP!" Elena shouted at the man, losing her temper, "It was an accident! I've never broken the law in my life!" She turned back to the woman. "You believe me, don't you?"

"See that sign up there?" The man pointed above the cash register, announcing that shoplifters would be prosecuted. "It's there for a reason."

Elena's temper died away, and she started to feel light headed. "But I'm not a shoplifter," she said quietly, as she started to sway on her feet. The saleswoman grabbed a chair from behind the counter and lowered her into it. "I'm sorry, I'm just... My dog died at the weekend, and he was all I had left, and I... it's all got a bit much for me I guess." Elena was aware that she was babbling, but the idea of being arrested was making her panic. She couldn't be there for Jeremy if she was in jail.

"Oh you poor thing!" The saleswoman spoke for the first time. "Is there anyone you'd like me to call for you?"

"Like the police?" The man said pointedly.

"No. There's nobody to call. My brother's not here anymore. He's gone." Elena put her head between her knees as she started to feel sick.

The woman gently patted her on the back, and the man sighed in irritation. "Fine. Do what you want. I was only trying to help." Elena heard his footsteps leading away, before the chime of the door as it opened and closed.

"It really was an accident." She said, glancing up at the saleswoman.

"I'm sure it was, honey." The woman smiled at her. "Are you okay now?"

"Elena gave her a tremulous smile and stood up. "Thank you," she said to the woman. She walked out of the shop and went to find her car, praying that she would never have to see that horrible man ever again.

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><p>AN: So there we go, my first attempt at an AU/AH fic. I have no idea if it's any good, so please let me know your thoughts!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing and/or favouriting, this is my first time trying an AU/AH, and I hope nobody is coming across as too OOC for you. A warning for this chapter - Damon doesn't appear in it. I know, and I'm sorry, but their next meeting is coming up soon, and I wanted to do it justice. Also, I invented a brother for Bonnie - that girl needs some family members, right? - and they both make an appearance in this chapter. So here's chapter two, I hope you enjoy it, and please review!

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><p>Caroline Forbes tapped her foot impatiently as she waited on her best friend's doorstep. As she finally heard the lock turning in the door, she opened up her mouth to speak, but closed it again abruptly as she took in the scene before her.<p>

Elena held the door open for Caroline, and the bubbly blond flicked her gaze past her and into the hallway, before landing back on Elena, one delicate eyebrow raising. "Please tell me you have a hot guy in here, and I interrupted you in the middle of doing something very kinky involving a bath full of custard."

Elena let out a giggle as she looked down at herself. Her denim dungarees were covered with splotches of canary yellow paint, and there were streaks and speckles up and down her bare arms. "I made a decision last night," she said, walking down the hallway towards the kitchen, watching Caroline follow her and immediately dig through her fridge for a bottle of wine.

"Ooh, Rose, perfect," Caroline pulled out the cork and poured two generous measures into each of the glasses Elena held out for her. "I'm struggling to see how covering yourself in paint will help you find a man."

"That's because I didn't make a decision to find a man," Elena rolled her eyes. Ever since she had split up with Matt several months ago, Caroline had been desperately trying to get her friend back on the dating scene again. "I've decided to get a lodger."

"A what?" Caroline practically shrieked. Then her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Oh, I get it, you're going to let out your rooms to a bunch of hunky men, right? That's an awesome idea!"

Elena thought she'd better nip this in the bud, before Caroline ran away with her 'awesome' idea. "No, Caroline, I'm going to rent out _one_ of my rooms, and I'm going to rent it out to a _girl._"

Caroline pouted. "But, why? You don't need any more girlfriends, you've already got me!"

She looked kind of hurt at the thought that Elena wanted to replace her, so she reached out and placed her hand on top of her friend's. "I know, Care, and you're the best best friend anyone could ever ask for. I mean it," Elena went on earnestly. "It's just... this house has always been full of people, and now that I'm on my own, it's starting to feel too big, and I don't like the feeling. I can't sell it, there are too many memories," she paused, letting her eyes travel around the large kitchen, where she could almost see her father as he busied himself making breakfast for everyone. "I'm starting to feel lonely. I know I have you," she began, noticing that her friend had opened her mouth to interrupt, "but you're busy with your new business, and with Tyler Lockwood, and I'd just like someone to come home to in the evening, someone I can feel comfortable with."

Caroline thought for a moment, then nodded her understanding. "Have you asked Jeremy what he thinks about this?"

Elena chuckled. "Yep, I called him last night. He said that as long as it gave me someone other than him to nag and worry over, he was good with it."

Caroline laughed. "So, what have you done so far to get this ball rolling?"

Elena finished her glass of wine and put the glass in the washing up bowl. "I called the newspaper last night, and asked them to run an ad for me, and this morning I went over to the community college and put up some flyers in the women's dorms. Now all I have to do is put the second coat of paint up in Jenna's old room." She started walking backwards towards the stairs. "You wanna help me?"

Caroline choked on the last mouthful of her wine before turning to stare at Elena in shock. "Me? I don't paint! I just got my nails done!"

"Caroline! You're an interior designer!"

"Exactly! I design, and someone else does the work!"

Elena sighed. "Fine, but I have to go finish. Will I see you later?"

"Actually, I'm meeting Tyler after work tonight," Caroline grabbed her bag and stood up, before stopping as a thought occurred to her, "unless, you need someone with you while you're interviewing potential roommates?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll be fine," Elena loved Caroline to pieces, but she was certain that many people would be put off if they came round to find the blond acting like a shrill pitbull.

"Well, if you're sure,"

"I am. Speak to you soon," Elena closed the door behind her friend, then headed back up the stairs to finish painting, humming as she went.

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><p>Elena had just finished baking some rolls – she had read that the smell of freshly baked bread made someone more likely to feel at home – when she heard the doorbell ring. Wiping her flour covered hands on a kitchen towel, she headed for the door. She took a deep breath, plastered a pleasant smile on her face and readied herself to welcome the first of the visitors scheduled tonight.<p>

"Matt?" Elena's jaw dropped as he stepped through the doorway, planting a kiss on her cheek as he passed her.

"Hey sweetie, ooh, do I smell bread?" He wandered down the hall into the kitchen. "What are we having for dinner?"

"What are you doing here?" Elena trailed after him, completely clueless as to why her ex-boyfriend was suddenly in her house. They had dated for a couple of years, before Elena had finally decided it wasn't what she wanted. Matt was a nice guy, but fidelity wasn't his strong suit, and Elena had eventually got tired of trying to make him settle down. She had realised as soon as it was over that it had been the right decision; the fact that it hadn't even bothered her too much when he cheated should have screamed that out to her from the beginning. But they had parted on good terms, and he had always been great for Jeremy, providing him with some much needed 'boy' time, so they had managed to stay close friends. She smacked the roll he had just picked up out of his hand. "Careful, they're still hot. And you haven't answered my question, what are you doing here?"

"Caroline called me," he shrugged, settling himself down on one of the breakfast bar stools. "She told me about this new little project of yours, so I thought I'd come over, make sure you weren't getting in over your pretty little head." He winked at her.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'll be _fine._ I'm only interviewing a few people, not hosting an orgy."

"Elena, these people are strangers," Matt leaned towards her, "you never know, one of them could turn out to be an axe murderer,"

"They're college girls, Matt," Elena resisted the urge to stamp her foot.

"Whatever. I just think it would be better if you weren't here alone in the house while they're here," he pulled his ipod out of his pocket and waggled it at her. "I'll stay upstairs in Jeremy's room out of the way okay? I'll just listen to some music, and you won't even know I'm here, I promise. You can just scream if you need me." He grinned, looking pleased with himself.

"Like you'd be able to hear me if you're listening to that thing," Elena grumbled, then turned her head as the doorbell chimed again. She sighed, "okay, fine, just... keep out of the way okay?"

Matt held his fingers up to the side of his head in a mock salute, then ran up the stairs as Elena pulled open the door.

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><p>"Well, that was a disaster," Elena groaned three hours later and slumped over on the couch.<p>

"You mean you didn't like Henrietta? I thought she was a hoot," Matt sat next to her, shovelling forkfuls of chocolate cake into his mouth.

Elena laughed out loud. "Please. The girl had dreadlocks. And a nose ring. Not just a pretty little stud either, but a big one, the kind you see on bulls."

"I'm sure you'd get used to that, in time."

"She told me that her spirit guide had brought her here! What could I do with that?"

"Yeah, that is a bit weird," Matt leaned forward and put his empty plate on the coffee table. "What about that other one, what was her name?"

"Susan," Elena sighed. "She came in holding a bible and asked me to pray with her!"

"I liked the last one. Juliette,"

"Matt, she smelled like the bottom of a bar stool! Plus," Elena added as an afterthought, "it wouldn't hurt her to actually wear some clothes." She shuddered at the image of the voluptuous red head squeezed into a leather bra top and a skirt that was really a belt. Elena was no prude, but if that was what the girl wore to go out, heaven only knew what she would actually wear around the house.

Matt stood up, fidgeting with his jacket for a moment. Elena knew what he was waiting for, and with a sigh, she held out the piece of paper with Juliette's name and number.

Matt grinned. "Thanks sweetie," he grabbed the paper and tucked it in his back pocket. "Cheer up, there'll be some more tomorrow, I'm sure there'll be someone you like then."

Elena sighed again. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," she got up and walked Matt to the front door.

"Just... call me before you let anyone else in, okay?" Matt looked at her, serious for a moment.

Elena nodded, then moved off to clean up the living room. She had just placed the dirty dishes and glasses in the dishwasher when the doorbell rang for the fifth time that evening. Thinking it was Matt again, he shuffled over to open the door, unable to muster any enthusiasm.

"Hi," A deep voice said as the door creaked open. "Is this the address that's letting out a room?"

Elena stood there gaping at the man standing on her doorstep. He had mocha coloured skin, and his eyes were dark pools of melted chocolate. His upper body was well built, indicating he played some kind of sport. Realising she was staring, Elena tried to pull herself together. "Uh, um, yes," she blurted, standing back to let him in.

"Now, I know you said in your ad that you were looking for a female..." He started, looking around the hallway.

"Well, yes, but I'm not really bothered, honestly." What was she doing? This wasn't what she had planned! She couldn't help watching his perfectly formed butt as he walked towards the kitchen though.

"I know you've probably had loads of other visitors," he said, looking around the kitchen, before settling his gaze on her, "but I would really like to rent this room."

"But... This is the kitchen..." Elena mumbled, startled by the intensity of his gaze.

He laughed. "Well, obviously," he held his hand out towards her. "I'm Henry Bennett."

"Elena," she shook his hand, revelling in how warm his palm was.

"I have a feeling we are going to get along great, Elena," Henry smiled, and Elena found herself blushing.

They sat down at the kitchen table and talked for a while. They discovered they had the same tastes in music and movies, and Henry told her about his college courses. Before long they were laughing and joking, and Elena tried to remember just how long it had been since she had felt this comfortable with a guy. It seemed like fate, so when Henry got up to leave, she placed her hand on his arm. "The room," she began, "it's yours if you want it."

Henry's eyes brightened and he smiled at her. "That's great! When can I bring the stuff in?"

"How about this weekend?"

"Perfect!" He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I can't wait," he whispered huskily.

Elena shut the door and leaned against it. She couldn't believe she had taken a chance like that. Caroline was going to be so proud of her!

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><p>The weekend rolled around quickly, and Elena found that she couldn't think about anything else. As Saturday dawned, she got out of bed and ran around the house, tidying everything, and making sure everything was perfect. By mid-morning, she was exhausted, but excited. She heard the telltale sound of a car pull up on the driveway, and practically flew down the stairs and out of the front door. She came to a skidding halt on the porch, as she watched Henry climb out of the driver's seat, closely followed by a dark skinned girl with deep brown curls. Was that his girlfriend? Elena's heart sank, as she realised the monumental mistake she had just made.<p>

Henry smiled as he bounded up the front steps, leaving the girl to open the trunk and start removing suitcases. "Elena! I'd like you to meet my sister, Bonnie." He said, holding out his hand towards the girl as she slowly mounted the steps.

His sister? A wave of relief shot through Elena, and she smiled tentatively at the girl. "Nice to meet you Bonnie,"

Bonnie didn't reply, just looked at the house in front of her apprehensively.

"Shall we go in?" Henry brought his other hand from behind his back with a flourish, presenting Elena with a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you!" Elena showed them inside and walked into the kitchen to find a vase. "Where's Bonnie?" She asked, noticing that only Henry had followed her.

"She's just putting her stuff away, she'll be down in a minute."

"You shouldn't let a girl do all of the heavy – wait a minute!" Elena's mind skittered to a halt mid-sentence. "Did you say _her_ stuff?"

"Of course," Henry looked at her, confusion in his eyes.

He was confused? Then what did that make her? "But... But I rented the room out to _you..._"

"I know," Henry said, looking at her curiously now. "I'm going to be paying for it."

Elena's mind ran through the conversation they had had a few nights ago, and realised that he hadn't once said that _he_ was going to be staying in the room. "But... The whole point of arranging an interview is so you can see if you both like each other. I've never even _met_ your sister!"

"Oh don't worry about that," Henry laughed, "Bonnie's great, you'll love her."

"I'm sorry, I don't think this is going to work..."

Henry leaned forward. "Listen," he said in a low voice, "Bonnie's been going through a hard time recently. Her boyfriend broke up with her and she's struggling to get over it. She needs some company.

_Great,_ Elena thought. This was supposed to be about making _her _feel less lonely, how was a mopey girl still hung up on her ex supposed to do that?

"Besides," Henry went on, "I can't exactly live here, can I?"

"Why not?"

"Well..." Henry looked up at her haltingly, "I like you, Elena. And if I lived here, I wouldn't be able to ask you out. It wouldn't be... Right."

Oh. _Oh. _ Maybe things were looking up.

At that moment, Bonnie came down the stairs. "All sorted?" Henry asked her, and she replied with a nod.

Did this girl ever speak?

"Right, well, I'll let you two girls get to know each other," Henry got up from the table and moved towards the door. Elena followed him to show him out. "So," he said as they reached the porch, "do you think it would be alright if I called you sometime?"

Elena smiled. "Maybe," she said cheekily.

He smiled back. "Then maybe I'll call." He winked at her, then got in his car and drove off.

Elena shut the door and leaned against it for a moment. Then she blew out a breath and walked back to the kitchen. "Bonnie, would you like a drink? I think I've still got a bottle of wine around here somewhere." She opened the fridge.

"Oh, no thank you," Bonnie finally spoke up. "I can't drink alcohol, I'm on medication."

"Oh," Elena shut the fridge, her mind desperately casting around for a topic of conversation.

Bonnie stood up. "You know, I think I'm just going to go to my room for a while." She walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs without another word.

Elena sighed and slumped over the counter, thinking about the mess she had gotten herself into. _Great. Just great._

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><p><em><em>A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the lack of our favourite blue eyed man, but he will be making an appearance in the next chapter, I promise! I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First of all, a big thank you to everybody who reviewed this story. I send private replies to as many as I can, so for those of you who I can't reply to, a big thank you. I appreciate it, really, so very much. Secondly, the character Bonnie is not really the same girl as the one in the tv show (which in my mind can only be a good thing), I've pretty much just used her name and physical features for this story. And thirdly, trust me, there is a reason as to why Damon is such a jerk, which we will find out in chapter 4! Anyway, enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoy this next installment!

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><p>Elena sat slumped over her kitchen counter in defeat. It had been two weeks since Bonnie had moved in, and Henry had yet to call. Even worse, every night that Elena had stayed in the house – definitely <em>not<em> waiting for the phone to ring, she had been treated to yet another story in the Luka Saga. Bonnie went on and on for _hours_ about their relationship, to the point where Elena was about ready to rip her ears off. But then of course she would start to cry, and Elena would start to feel bad for her, and guilty for letting her attention wander. Last night had been the worst moment yet, as Bonnie had explained in great detail just how Luka liked his socks ironed. The guy sounded like a jerk, and for the life of her Elena couldn't understand why Bonnie was so broken up over it.

Her heart sunk even lower as she heard footsteps in the hallway. She plastered a smile on her face, and turned on her stool. She almost sobbed with relief when she saw Caroline standing in the doorway.

"Boring Bonnie let me in on her way out," Caroline said by way of greeting. Elena rolled her eyes. Both Matt and Caroline had shared a few giggles over the predicament she was in, and the nickname had stuck.

Caroline eyed her friend as she leaned against the breakfast bar, and decided she definitely needed cheering up. "Come on, grab your bag," she said bossily.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you out to lunch," Caroline replied decisively, linking her arm through Elena's as they walked towards the door.

Elena's eyes lit up at the thought, and she hugged her best friend. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" They got in Caroline's car, "Where are we going, The Grill?"

"Actually, there's this new place just opened up on the edge of town, it's supposed to be really good."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Sure you don't want to wait until Bonnie comes back, see if she wants to come along?" Caroline asked innocently.

Elena shot a glare in her friend's direction. "Drive the car, Caroline."

* * *

><p>Elena's jaw fell open as they pulled up in the parking lot outside the restaurant. There was a courtyard, wrapped around on three sides by old-style buildings. One third of the space was taken up by the restaurant, while the other two looked like converted warehouses. "What is this place?" She asked, stepping out of the car, feeling her heels sink into the gravel.<p>

"It's a restaurant cum antiques store," Caroline locked the car and they started walking towards the restaurant doors. "A client of mine came here last week, told me he spent two thousand dollars."

"Um, you are paying for lunch right?" Elena asked, "I don't think I could afford to spend that on lunch."

Caroline knocked her with her hip. "It wasn't the food that was expensive. Apparently it was the crystal chandelier his wife took a fancy to after their meal."

Elena glanced up at the sign above the door as they walked through and stood, waiting to be seated. _Salvatore's._

"You have to admit," Caroline continued, as they were seated by a smiling waitress, "it's a good idea. Get the rich people around here drunk on good wine and happy on good food, so that they'll stumble through the antiques store and buy all the expensive stuff." She shrugged.

Elena looked around the bright and airy dining room. There were fresh flowers on all the tables, which gleamed like melted butter in the sunlight that filtered through the floor to ceiling windows that covered two of the walls. Music fluttered in through the open doors from the antiques store, and the smells of garlic and herbs that wafted through the doors to the kitchen as they swung to and fro gave the whole place a really welcoming feel. She felt a smile lift her lips as she realised just how comfortable she felt here.

Caroline watched her friend closely. "What are you thinking?"

Elena shrugged contentedly. "Nothing much. I just... I really like it here, that's all."

The two girls spent a pleasant couple of hours in the restaurant, laughing and joking. Caroline gently teased her friend about the situation with Bonnie, until Elena pleaded with her to talk about cheerier things.

"One more drink," Elena waggled the almost empty bottle of wine in front of Caroline's nose.

"I can't, I'm driving," Caroline replied wistfully, her eyes following the bottle as it moved back and forth across her vision.

"Leave the car. We can call for a taxi and I'll drive you back to pick it up in the morning."

Caroline giggled. "Well, if you insist," she held her glass out and caught the attention of their waitress. "Another bottle, please!"

By the time their lunch was over, they were both very giggly, the result of far too much alcohol. Elena looked around the room again and smiled. "You know," she said suddenly, "I would love to work here."

"Seriously?"

Elena looked up at the waitress standing just behind Caroline.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it's just, one of our waitresses just left with her boyfriend this morning, and we've all been rushed off our feet. The manager is desperate to find someone quickly."

Elena looked at Caroline, who sat there sipping her wine, a smug expression on her face. "Seriously," Elena nodded. "I would love to work here!"

The waitress smiled and handed Caroline the check. "Excellent! I'll just go tell Becky. She's the manager." She started clearing their table. "I'm sure she'll want to talk to you, will you be able to wait for a while?"

"Sure. We're in no hurry."

"I'm sure you're not," Caroline said, smiling slightly.

"I have no idea what you mean," Elena shook her hair back over her shoulders haughtily.

"Elena Gilbert, look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn't just get a job just so you could get out of your own house and away from your new roommate." Caroline stared her down, the look only mildly affected by the occasional hiccup.

"I did not!" Elena tried to look affronted, but her friend knew her too well. "Well, it's not the only reason! I do like this place, and I think a part time job will be good for me, while I decide what I want to do."

"Excuse me," came a voice from behind her, "Dana said you might be interested in working here for us?"

Elena looked up into the older woman's face and decided straight away that she was going to like her. "Yes, I definitely am!"

Becky's face relaxed into a wide smile. "Oh thank goodness! I thought for a moment Dana was playing a trick on me!"

She dragged a chair over to their table and joined them. After a few minutes, she had all of Elena's details, and was gushing over the fact that her problem was fixed. "I'll just have to talk to the owner, and then if you come back in tomorrow, we can go over your schedule, does that sound okay?"

"Will the owner be alright with you deciding who gets to work here?" Elena asked her.

"Who, Damon?" Becky stood up. "Oh yes, he'll be fine with it, he doesn't really pay much attention to the restaurant side of things, he's more interested in the antiques business. You should go and check the place out, there are loads of gorgeous things in there."

Elena laughed. "I think I'll have to accept a couple of pay checks first, before I go shopping in an antiques store."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely." Elena waved goodbye to Becky, and she and Caroline made their way out into the sunshine filled courtyard.

"Aargh!" Caroline suddenly shrieked. Looking down, Elena saw a cat stop in front of her friend and swipe its paw in the direction of her legs, hissing furiously.

Elena smothered a laugh. "Looks like you made a friend. Come on," she pulled on Caroline's arm. "We're not going home yet, I want to have a look at all the old stuff." Side-stepping the enraged cat, they headed into the cool interior of the old building.

Inside was like an Aladdin's cave of treasures. Pictures hung on the wall and stood in stacks on the floor. Shelves swept across two thirds of the room, holding all sorts of unique items, glittering in the sunlight streaming in through the slit windows. "Oh, I like this!" Elena ran her fingers down the length of a bronze coloured chaise longue. Her eyes found the price, and she took her hand away quickly.

"Never mind that! Look at these!" Caroline held up a pair of large silver candlesticks, her eyes gleaming.

Elena giggled as she watched her friend try to stuff them in her bag. "Stop that! Bad girl, put them back!"

"They won't fit anyway, bag's too small. No forward planning, that's my trouble." Caroline waved the heavy candlesticks in the air.

"Antlers!" Elena let out a shriek and ran across the room, reaching up to touch them. "I've always wanted to feel what real antlers are like!"

"They wouldn't suit you. And you definitely couldn't slip those into your handbag."

"And I'd rather you didn't try."

As soon as Elena heard the first notes of that velvety voice, she knew who was standing behind her. Her skin reacted too, as she felt a tingle of warmth spread up her spine, before a wave of nausea rolled over her.

Taken aback by his tone, Caroline said snippily, "We weren't going to steal anything. We were having a bit of fun that's all. It was a _joke._"

The man shrugged. "Not a very funny one."

Elena could see that Caroline was getting more and more worked up. "How dare you! Just who do you think you are?" Grabbing her phone out of her bag, Caroline jabbed jerkily at the buttons. "Hello? Hello? Yes, I like a taxi _this minute..._"

Just then Becky came running into the shop, and her eyes lit up when she saw Elena there. "Oh good! I was just coming to tell Damon the good news!" She smiled eagerly at Elena.

Elena's eyes widened in confusion, then closed in frustration as realisation set in.

"Tell me what?" Damon drawled.

"Elena's coming to work for us!" Becky exclaimed excitedly.

"No she's not," Damon said flatly. _Very_ flatly.

"Like she would want to work for a jerk like you!" Caroline shouted at Damon. "We won't ever be coming back here again!"

"Excellent," Damon replied succinctly, "mission accomplished."

"No it isn't!" Elena spoke for the first time. "Caroline wait, we're going to sort this out!" She strode over to Damon and looked him in the eyes. "We came here for lunch. We had a lovely time," she began.

"Did you pay for it?"

"Yes!" Elena exclaimed indignantly.

"With a credit card of your own, or someone else's?"

Elena looked at him. "My God, you're a piece of work!"

Caroline narrowed her eyes in disgust as she put the pieces together. "It's him, isn't it? He's the one who made you cry in the shop!"

Elena turned back to Becky, who was watching the scene unfold before her with her mouth open. "I'm sorry, I would have loved to have worked with you," she shot a look over her shoulder at Damon. "But I don't ever want to be anywhere near _him_ ever again." She grabbed Caroline's arm and pulled her out of the shop.

* * *

><p>It was midnight, clouds were scudding past the moon and Elena and Caroline were on a mission under cover of darkness to retrieve Caroline's car from the parking lot of Salvatore's without being seen.<p>

"what a _dick._" Caroline was still fuming over the treatment they had received earlier at the hands of Damon Salvatore.

"I know." Elena concentrated on driving in the dark. It always scared her, after what happened with her parents.

"I mean, that man has a serious attitude problem!"

"I know."

"You didn't tell me he was drop dead gorgeous."

Elena knew that too. "This is the turning, right? Oh God, what if he's here?"

You should have worn a black hat, like me." Caroline had taken the image of cat-burglar and really gone all out.

Elena rolled her eyes. "You're the one that needs to cover that blond hair of yours. I think I'll do fine." She ran her gaze over her friend's ensemble. "Didn't have time to buy a balaclava?"

"Balaclava's aren't my style, they'd ruin my make-up. Besides, then he'd probably threaten us with a shotgun and I'd have to kill him with my bare hands. OK, here we go." Caroline leaned forward as they entered the parking lotand saw her powder blue Fiesta parked on its own by the far wall. "Just swing round, pull up next to my car and I'll jump out. We'll be gone in – wait, what's that on the windscreen? If that jerk has given me a parking ticket..."

She was out of the car in a flash. As she wrenched the envelope out from under the windscreen wiper Elena saw a dark shadow dart across the gravel, miaowing loudly, before leaping out of the beam of her headlights. Oh great, now it was probably under the car and if she tried to drive off she'd kill it.

Rolling down her window, she hissed to Caroline, "Where's the cat?"

"Don't know, but this is for you." Caroline handed her the envelope. "Probably a restraining order warning you not to go within five miles of him."

"My pleasure," Elena muttered, ripping open the envelope. "Just see if that cat's under the car will you?"

Turning on the interior light, she saw the note was from Becky. It was brief and to the point.

_Dear Elena,_

_We need you! Sorry about today, Damon can be a stroppy git sometimes but he's alright really. I've spoken to him now and sorted everything out. I really hope you'll come and work here. Please give me a ring._

"What is it?" Caroline was peering through the open window. "What does it say? God, what's _that!" _As a door suddenly slammed across the yard, she jumped and whacked her head on the window frame. "Ow, that _hurts._"

"It's him." Reading Becky's words was all well and good, but as he moved into the beam of her headlights, she had to stifle an almost overwhelming urge to run the jerk over.

Except it wouldn't only be the tyres squealing if she ran over the damn cat. Stuck where she was, she eyed Damon warily as he approached them. He was wearing a gray shirt and dark jeans, and she didn't trust him one bit.

"On the bright side," said Caroline, "at least he isn't carrying a gun."

"Unless there's one in his pocket." Elena let out a giggle. "Although I can't say he looks pleased to see us."

"Damn, he's good-looking though."

Caroline hadn't said it loudly, but noise obviously travelled across an otherwise empty parking lot.

"Thank you," he said gravely, nodding at Caroline before turning his attention to Elena. "Have you read Becky's note?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And she's right," Elena raised an eyebrow at him. "You are a stroppy git."

She could tell right away that Damon hadn't read the note himself, and didn't know what Becky had written about him. To his credit, he smiled briefly. The change in his whole appearance was immediate, and Elena found herself sucking in her breath at the sight.

"Well, maybe that's true. What else did she say?"

"That she'd spoken to you and everything was sorted out." Elena couldn't quite believe that this was happening, that she was sitting in her car in the early hours of the morning, with Caroline standing in her cat-burglar outfit, having this conversation. With _him_. "And she still wants me to come and work in the restaurant. Well, officially I'll be working in the restaurant. Unofficially, of course, I'd be fiddling the bills, pocketing all the tips and cloning people's credit cards."

"I may have overreacted," said Damon. "When you're in this business, shoplifters are the bane of your life."

Furiously, Caroline hissed, "Excuse me, she's _not_ a –"

"OK, OK," Damon held his hands up, looking at Elena evenly. "Look, if you want the job, it's yours."

Elena sat there thinking it over. On the one hand, it would be incredibly satisfying to tell him to stick his magnanimous offer _and_ his horrible restaurant where the sun doesn't shine.

On the other hand, it _wasn't_ a horrible restaurant, and she really did want to work there.

Finally, Elena said, "Is your cat under my car?"

He shook his head. "No, she ran past me into the apartment when I came out. So how about this job then? What shall I tell Becky?"

God, he was infuriating. He really just expected her to do whatever she wanted, didn't he? Revving the car's engine, she flashed him a sunny smile. "Tell her I'll think it over," putting the car into reverse, she stuck her hand out of the window to wiggle her fingers at him. "Bye!"

* * *

><p>AN: So there we go, chapter 3! I hope you liked it, and please review :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So, here we are, we finally get to find out why Damon can be such a dick! I hope it lives up to your expectations! *bites nails* Oh, and don't worry, Henry won't be in the way for too long, and Bonnie'll sort herself out soon too (because she's getting on my nerves!) Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and please review!

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><p>Elena was sitting in her kitchen, drinking coffee and reading a magazine, when she heard the telltale shuffle of feet that signalled Boring Bonnie's arrival. Sighing inwardly, she plastered a smile on her face before turning to greet her less than thrilling roommate.<p>

"Morning! Sleep well?" Elena held her breath, ready for the onslaught of whatever terrible Luka-involved dream Bonnie was going to go on about today.

Bonnie sniffed slightly, before turning to make herself a cup of tea. "Not really, I had a dream about Luka last night."

_Here we go,_ thought Elena, rolling her eyes.

Bonnie went on, "It's his birthday today, and I dreamed that he turned up on the doorstep and told me he still loved me," she sniffed again as she sat down at the counter. "So, I thought it might be a sign, you know? So when I woke up, I called him, just to wish him a Happy Birthday, and... and... he hung up on me!" Big fat tears were streaming down her face by this time.

Elena couldn't help it; she was compassionate by nature. "Bon, don't you think it's time you let this go?" She asked sympathetically, placing her hand over Bonnie's quivering fingers. "He's obviously moved on, maybe it's time you thought about doing the same." She gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze.

"But... but... I love him!" Bonnie wailed. Loudly.

And that was as far as her compassion went. "I'm working the evening shift tonight at the restaurant, so don't wait up for me, 'kay?" She got up to leave the suddenly very depressing kitchen, but Bonnie called her back.

"Henry called for you, while you were in the shower."

Elena's heart sped up slightly. Was she finally going to get that date? "Really, what did he want to talk to me about?"

"He said something about the rent," Bonnie mumbled, already slipping back into her Luka-filled daydreams.

Elena slumped slightly, before thinking that maybe he did still want to ask her out, and just didn't want to mention it to his sister. She went upstairs to her room and retrieved her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Henry, it's Elena."

"Oh, hey! Did Bonnie tell you I called?"

"Yeah, she said something about the rent?" Elena asked, hoping he would say 'No, that was just an excuse to call you up so I could ask you out!'

No such luck. "Yeah, I wanted to tell you that I've set up a direct debit, so it should go straight into your account."

"Oh," Elena sunk down on her bed, disappointed. "Good," she added, lamely.

"Well, I guess that was all I wanted to say..."

As Henry prepared to sign off, Elena felt her blood begin to boil at the unfairness of it all. She had been expecting a call from him for 3 weeks now, and all she had to show for it was a mopey roommate. She was beginning to suspect that she had been played.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but I really don't think this arrangement is going to work out. I've given Bonnie a chance, but –"

"Woah, hold up," Henry's voice sounded rather panicked, and Elena narrowed her eyes. "Listen, we need to talk about this. I know you don't want to go out with me, but will you at least meet up with me for a drink? Just to talk?"

Huh? Whatever Elena had expected him to say, it certainly hadn't been that. "Uh, sure?" it came out as more of a question in her confusion.

"Great," she heard him give a small sigh of relief. "Shall we say, The Grill? At around, two-ish?"

"Okay. See you then." Elena hung up, not quite sure what had just happened.

* * *

><p>When Elena walked through the doors of The Grill just before two, she saw Henry sitting over in one of the booths. She walked over to him hesitantly, smiling slightly as he jumped up to greet her.<p>

"Elena! You're looking... no sorry, mustn't say that." He broke himself off, and Elena frowned slightly as she slid into her seat. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Uh, a glass of wine would be nice, thanks."

By the time he came back with their drinks, Elena had decided to jump straight in. "Why did you say I didn't want to go out with you?" she asked him.

Henry shrugged, looking down at the table. "I could just tell," he said, drawing patterns with his finger down the side of his beer bottle. "When I asked if I could ask you out, you didn't seem very enthusiastic."

Elena felt her eyebrows shoot upwards. "I said _maybe_!"

"Exactly." Henry still wouldn't look at her.

"Henry, I was being coy! I did want you to ask me out!"

"You did?" Henry finally looked up at her, amazement on his face. "Wow, I totally misread the signals, didn't I?" he shook his head at himself. "So, would you like to go out with me this weekend?"

Elena smiled. "I would love to," she said, nodding.

Henry's smile lit up his whole face. "I could just kiss you right now," he said, before glancing down again. "But I won't."

"Chicken," Elena murmured mischievously.

"Elena Gilbert, is that a dare?" Henry grabbed her hand and pulled her from the booth. "If there's one thing I can't back down from..." He brought his face close to hers and kissed her lightly on the lips.

A wolf whistle sounded from behind them, and Elena turned, blushing, to see Vicki Donovan cheering her on.

"Come on," she said, cringing slightly, "I need to get to work, you can walk me to my car."

Once they were outside, Henry leaned down to capture her lips with his again. It was... nice, and Elena found herself liking it a lot.

"Just one thing," he murmured, as he opened her car door for her. "I don't think it would be a good idea to tell my sister about us." At Elena's wary look, he hurried on. "It's just, she just got out of a long term relationship, and she's really unstable at the moment. I don't think she would take too well to us being happy right in front of her, you know?"

Elena frowned for a moment, but then nodded. After all, anything that would keep Bonnie from being even more depressed could only be a good thing.

* * *

><p>Elena was in a very good mood by the time she arrived at Salvatore's. She got out of the car and shivered, the cold air of almost winter hitting her like a slap to the face. She grabbed her coat and hurried inside, glad to be in the warmth. As she stepped into the dining room, she saw Damon and Becky sitting at a table, going over the night's menu.<p>

Becky looked up as she heard her approach. "Elena! We're so glad you decided to take the job! Aren't we?" She added sternly to Damon, whose lips twitched in amusement.

"Very," he drawled as she sat down to join them. "Here, why don't you go over the specials, while Becky and I have a quick word in the kitchen?"

Elena nodded, taking the menu he held out to her and blowing on her fingers to warm them up. After studying the menu to familiarise herself with everything, she glanced up at the closed kitchen door. As she did, she noticed something on the floor, just underneath the table behind where Damon had been sitting. She bent down and picked it up, folding out a crinkled 20 dollar note. Her eyes narrowed. She knew exactly what he was up to. Testing her? The nerve of this guy! She leaned over to put the money back where she had found it, but then a better idea came to her. Luckily, she had gone to the bank earlier that day.

A few minutes later, Damon came back through into the dining room, followed by a confused looking Becky. Sure enough, as soon as he drew up to her table, his gaze flicked down to the floor. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he took in the sight of the two crisp 10 dollar notes in place of the twenty he had purposefully dropped.

"Nice try," Elena said to him, smiling sunnily.

"What?" Becky's eyes ping ponged between them, before coming to rest on the money on the floor. A look of dawning realisation on her face was quickly replaced with indignation. "I wondered why you suddenly wanted to have a conversation about fresh vegetable deliveries!" She smacked him on the arm. "Ugh! You are such a pig!" She looked up as she heard the door open. "Customers are arriving. You go do your thing, I'll show Elena the kitchen." She grabbed Elena by the hand and pulled her away, leaving Damon to seat the customers.

* * *

><p>Six hours later, and Elena was officially wiped out. She had had a lot of fun though. The rest of the staff were friendly and welcoming, and the customers were all lovely, especially the regulars, who had taken to her addition to the team with much appreciation. She tried not to think about why it was that every time she had a spare moment, her eyes automatically sought out that tall lean frame and raven hair, the flash of blue eyes, as he went around the tables, welcoming people to his restaurant. He was really quite good at it, she thought, remembering his easy smile, the way he flirted with the women, but also paid enough attention to the men so they wouldn't see him as a threat. She couldn't help but notice, however, that his smile never touched his eyes.<p>

"Here you go," Becky handed her a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with her. The restaurant had closed and been cleaned, and it was nearly time to go home. Elena wasn't all that desperate to leave, considering what she had to go home to.

Becky cleared her throat, and Elena looked at her. "Listen, I know it might be a bit forward of me, considering this was your first shift, but I have a favour to ask you." She looked up at her.

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind covering a couple of my shifts next weekend?"

"I don't see why not. Why, what are you up to?" Elena asked.

Becky smiled. "It's my brothers' fifteenth birthday party."

"You have a younger brother?"

"Twins, actually. Elijah and Nick. They're half brothers really, but I just adore them."

"I have a younger brother too," Elena was telling her all about Jeremy and his courses at college, when she heard footsteps behind her. She looked up to find Damon standing behind her.

"What are you two gossiping about?" He asked, leaning against the table behind him.

"Brothers," Becky replied, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I was telling Becky about my younger brother, Jeremy," Elena said, a wistful look coming across her face as she realised how much she was missing him.

Damon's face was uncharacteristically soft as he gazed at her. "What happened to him?"

"Hmm? Nothing! Well," she amended, thinking back to when her parents died. That was certainly not 'nothing'.

"I thought... is he not the one who died?" Damon asked, looking confused.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked him, her eyebrows raised.

"In the shop in town, you said that your brother was dead. Of course, I thought you were just making up a story to get out of trouble..."

Elena's face froze as she listened to him, anger coursing through her veins. "Let me guess," she hissed, narrowing her eyes and pinning him with a glare. "You don't have any close family members, _do you_?"

His mouth tightened, and his eyes turned to shards of ice. "No," he stated.

Somewhere behind her, she heard Becky gasp quietly. "That, is blatantly obvious," she said in a low voice, leaning towards him slightly. "Because nobody who was close to their family would ever even _think_ of telling such a terrible lie to get out of _anything_. I would _die_ for my brother," she finished furiously, her eyes glittering dangerously.

He looked at her for a moment, before nodding slightly. "Becky, would you take care of locking up?" He strode away without glancing back.

Elena watched him go, breathing hard through her nose. _What an awful thing to accuse her of!_ She was still fuming when she felt Becky's hand on her arm.

"Listen," she said, swiping her dirty blond fringe out of her eyes, "it's not really my place to say anything, but if you're going to be working here, then there are some things about Damon you need to know."

"Like what?" Elena leaned forward, eager to learn something about why the guy could be such a dick.

Becky took a deep breath. "Last year, when Damon first opened this place, he was engaged. To a girl named Katherine. They were so in love, and when they found out she was pregnant, Damon was so happy. He had a beautiful fiancée, a business that was doing fantastic, and a baby on the way. When Katherine gave birth to Millie, I swear I have never seen a man so happy and proud to be a father."

Elena was mystified. She hadn't heard anything about any of this. So Damon had a daughter out there somewhere? Something must have happened. "What went wrong?"

Becky continued, "when Millie was three months old, Damon went to an antiques auction for the weekend. I was in the courtyard overseeing a delivery when a large car pulled in, and Katherine came running out of the apartment with Millie. She strapped her into the car and then turned and gave me an envelope, telling me to give it to Damon." Becky trailed off as she got lost in her own memory, before turning to look at Elena. "She was leaving him, running off while he was out of town."

Elena gasped. "Did you say anything?"

Becky nodded. "I told her she couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, and she told me that that was what the letter was for. Just as she was about to get in the car, I shouted to her, '_you can't just take Millie away from him! He's her father!_'" Becky sighed heavily. "And that's when she said to me, '_that's just the thing. He's not._' And then she jumped in the car and sped away."

Elena was shocked. She sat there as Becky went around the restaurant, turning off the lights and locking all the doors. No wonder the guy had raging trust issues. Who could blame him after something like that? It was only as she got up to meet Becky at the front doors that she thought to ask, "Did you ever find out who the father actually was?"

Becky looked at her, her green eyes tinged with sadness, and nodded. "It was Stefan," she said, pulling the door closed and locking it. "Damon's brother."

* * *

><p>AN: So there we are, Stefan has made an appearance! We won't actually meet him though in this story! I'm hoping to get the next chapter up tomorrow (I'm thinking there will be about 10 chapters, plus an epilogue overall), and for those reading my canon fic The Evil Within, the next chapter of that should be up tonight *fingers crossed* Thanks for reading, and please review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Okay, so this chapter was supposed to have much more going on, but when I sat down to write it, the words just flowed out, and I realised that what I had set up would be the perfect chance to add a little of those misinterpretations that I love so much. It's also a little longer than the other chapters, so I hope it doesn't bore any of you!

A/N 2: A big thank you to everyone who has left me a review. I'm still stuck in hospital at the moment away from my kids, and every time I read a review, my spirits lift a little higher. You guys are awesome! And to all the lovely people who have submitted to story alert/ favourite author/ favourite story, thank you so much, and if you could leave me a tiny review, I would really appreciate it! I like to know that I'm not disappointing you!

So anyway, here's chapter 5, i hope you enjoy it, and please review :)

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><p>"Are you sure you've got her?"<p>

"Yup, I'm sure,"

"You're not going to drop her?"

"I will if we stand out here all day!"

"Alright, alright..."

Elena was feeling incredibly happy. Her last two weeks working at Salvatore's had been exhausting but fun, she and Damon had got over their last sparring match and were well on their way to a tentative friendship, and she had finally been out on that date with Henry. It had been a lovely evening; Henry had taken her out for dinner, they had talked all the way through the meal – thankfully not only about Boring Bonnie – and he had kissed her sweetly before helping her into her car. Having to drive to her date herself so as not to let her roommate know she was going on a date with her brother had made their goodnight kiss a little awkward – the parking lot had been swarming with drunk teenagers who had leered at them and made many suggestive comments – but at least it had spared Elena from the dilemma of whether or not to invite Henry in for 'coffee'. Ahem.

Elena stumbled slightly under the weight of the statue she was helping Damon unload from the delivery truck. As Damon backed into the warmth of the cavernous antiques centre, Elena glanced down to where his strong arms were wrapped around the top half of a partially dressed woman. She stifled a laugh as she saw _exactly_ what parts his hands had latched onto.

"Okay, I think we can set her down here."

Elena gently lowered the feet of the marble statue down to the floor, taking extra care not to scrape the bottom on the hard surface, her jellified arms grateful for the reprieve. She laughed out loud as she looked up and saw Damon still holding onto the top end of the statue.

Damon frowned and followed her gaze, to where his hands were still cupping the statue's naked breasts. He removed his hands quickly, and Elena laughed harder as she saw the blush creeping up his neck and turn away.

"She's beautiful," Elena eyed the marble figure appreciatively, watching as Damon carefully hung a price tag on it. When she saw the amount written on the label however, her eyes widened. "She's not that beautiful!" She spluttered.

Damon smiled. "The prices in the antique business don't represent the value of the object," he explained as they started unloading smaller items and bringing them into the store. "It's about the history behind each piece." He nodded towards the statue as he moved over to the portable heater beside his desk. "She was made by Attilio and Furio Piccirilli, Italian sculptors who came to the US to further their art, encouraged by their father, Guiseppe, a carver who taught them their skills with a chisel."*

Elena moved over to warm her hands by the heater, and turned back to face the statue as she listened to Damon's story.

"They created her together, but then Furio decided he would give it to the woman he was in love with, and claim the credit for himself alone. Attilio was angered by this, and so the two brothers fought over her until the end of their days." Damon leaned against the counter and passed Elena a steaming mug of coffee. "After they died, the woman Furio was in love with gave the statue away; she couldn't bear the thought that she might have been the real reason for the fight. Which, of course, she was, as the statue is supposed to be a likeness of her." He shrugged, indicating that the story was just that, a story, sipping his own coffee.

Elena stood gazing at the statue for a moment, mesmerised by the story, and thinking of what Becky had told her about Damon's own past. She must have spaced out for a moment, because suddenly she felt Damon's hand lightly touching her arm. A buzz of electricity shot through her at the contact, and she jumped slightly.

"You okay?" He asked, his blue eyes deepening with concern.

"Hmm? Oh... yes," Elena was distracted by the fact that Damon hadn't removed his hand. "I guess I just got swept away by your story. I think I get now why antiques are so expensive."

Damon moved to stand in front of her, wrapping both hands around his coffee cup, and Elena felt both relieved and disappointed in the loss of contact.

Listen, this isn't a date, it's a straight offer." Damon began, looking down into a crate by his feet. "I've been invited to the reopening of the Mystic Falls Hotel on Friday, and I can bring a guest. If you wanted to, you could come with me."

He still didn't look up at her, and Elena couldn't help but wonder about the sudden overture of friendship. Did she come across as a person in need of some kind of social life? Oh God, she didn't, did she?

"You want to take me with you to a hotel? Aren't you afraid I'll steal all the bathrobes?"

He grinned briefly. "I'll just have to trust you to behave yourself."

"I might not be able to, that hotel has some seriously nice towels. Monogrammed."

"Well, while the security guards are escorting you outside, you can put in a good word for Salvatore's."

He still hadn't made eye contact. "You mean I get to steal lots of stuff _and _I get to plug your restaurant?" She rolled her eyes at his arrogance. "Well, thank you for the generous offer, but I don't think so." She shook her head.

"Oh. Do you have something else planned?"

His eyes darted up to hers finally, but continued on around the room. Wow, he couldn't even look at her. _I bet Becky forced him to ask me,_ she thought with a burst of understanding.

"Actually, yes," she replied airily. If anyone thought she needed some kind of _pity date_, she was going to set them all straight. "I'm already going to the opening. With my boyfriend." Could you call someone that when you'd only been on one date with him? Oh well.

"Oh. Right. Sorry, I didn't know." He ran his hand through his hair and started backing away behind the counter.

"It's alright, how would you?" Elena moved towards the front of the store. "My shift starts in a few minutes. I'll see you there though?"

"Sure," he busied himself with the papers scattered around his desktop.

Elena smiled at him, "Don't worry, I'll still plug the restaurant." With that, she walked out into the frosty afternoon.

Damon watched her leave out of the corner of his eye. _Of course she had a boyfriend_, he thought to himself. Why would he think otherwise, she was beautiful. It was probably for the best anyway. He didn't want to start dating again anytime soon, and the less available she was, the easier it would be for him to maintain his distance. A sour feeling curled into a ball in the pit of his stomach, but he dismissed it as indigestion. It couldn't be because he was jealous.

* * *

><p>Elena was just putting the finishing touches to her outfit when she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. "Come in, Bonnie." She called, standing in front of the full length mirror as she put the last crystal tipped pin in her hair.<p>

In the mirror, she saw her door open and watched as Bonnie came slowly into the room and sat in the overstuffed armchair in the corner. "Are you okay?" She asked instinctively, before inwardly wincing. The last thing she needed was another round of _I-miss-Luka-soooo-much!_ Caroline was supposed to be picking her up any minute now.

"You look kind of dressed up for work," Bonnie commented, not answering the question.

Elena studied her reflection, turning from side to side to evaluate the cut of the dress. Caroline had insisted that a little black dress just wouldn't cut it for tonight's event, and had taken her out shopping for a proper evening gown. Elena had to admit though, as she watched the peacock blue silk shimmer as she moved, it was a beautiful dress. It was almost floor length, the fluted hem just brushing the tops of her strappy black kitten heeled sandals. The skirt flowed outwards from her hips, and the bodice clung tightly to her every curve. Thin spaghetti straps went round her neck, leaving her back completely exposed until the fabric gathered together again in a V shape at her lower back. She had curled her hair, then arranged it in a chignon low on her head, with tendrils falling down to frame her face. She had dotted a dozen pins artfully, each one adorned with a small crystal that captured the light as she moved.

She grabbed her mascara and started applying it. "That's because I'm not going to work. I'm going to the hotel opening. I thought I told you?" She said to Bonnie, applying a touch of shimmery peach lip gloss.

"Oh, is that today?" Bonnie asked, frowning delicately. "I thought..." She trailed off, her eyes filling with tears.

Elena sighed, then moved over to comfort her. "What's the matter, Bon?"

"It's... it _would_ have been our two year anniversary today, and I just... I was hoping we could sit and talk for a while tonight." Bonnie looked up at her hopefully.

Oh no. Oh _no!_ Surely she wasn't asking her to not go out tonight? Did she really expect her to stop in and listen to yet another boring lament for Luka? Elena could feel her patience fast beginning to fade. Thankfully, she was saved from trying to find an understanding answer by the sound of the doorbell.

"That'll be Caroline. Listen, I have to go, but... maybe if you're still up when I get back, we can have that talk then, okay?" She closed her eyes briefly at her own idiotic offer, before continuing on brightly. "Just... try not to get too worked up alright? There's ice cream in the freezer, that always helps cheer me up!"

"Luka hated ice cream, it gave him headaches."

Elena raised her eyes heavenward, then shook her head and grabbed her coat, heading down the stairs without another word.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Caroline's face was tinged pink from standing in the cold for so long, waiting for Elena to open the door.

Elena pushed past her and onto the porch, shooting her a _what do you think_ look. "Come on, let's go, I need alcohol, stat."

"I'm still not entirely sure why I'm driving you to this thing," Caroline said as they got in the car.

"I told you," Elena replied, holding her hands against the heater as the car started. "Henry didn't want to pick me up because he didn't want Bonnie to feel left out."

"Yeah, that was the part that didn't make sense to me." Caroline pulled away from the curb and started driving towards the hotel. "I don't like it when people try to keep secrets from others."

"Only because you love gossip."

"That's not true!" Elena gave her a pointed look. "Okay, well maybe it is a little true, but my point still stands. 'Lena, I really don't think you should trust this guy."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Caroline, you haven't even met him yet, how could you possibly know if I should trust him or not?"

"Exactly because I haven't met him yet! Come on Elena, you've known him for what, almost three months now? And this is going to be your second date with the guy? Sweetie, that doesn't exactly scream 'potential'."

"You've known Tyler for more than twenty years, what does that say about your 'potential'?" Elena shot back.

"They are two completely different situations, and you know it." Caroline pulled into the already overflowing hotel parking lot.

"Well we're here now, so the situation can be rectified." Elena pulled her coat tightly around her as she stepped out of the car. "You can meet him, and then you can stop worrying. In fact," she continued, spying Henry getting out of a taxi by the front doors, "there he is now. Henry!"

He looked up at her shout, his eyes flicking over Caroline before focusing on Elena. He stood and waited for them to join him on the sidewalk, bending down to kiss Elena on the cheek as they reached him.

She made introductions. "Caroline, this is Henry Bennett, Henry, this is Caroline Forbes."

Caroline held out her hand politely, but something about her facial expression made Elena slightly nervous. "Oh yes, the man who keeps reeling in my friend and then dropping her back in," she said acidly as Henry shook her outstretched hand.

Seriously? Did Caroline just compare her to a _fish_?

"Ah, the best friend who keeps butting in on Elena's life," Henry replied, just as coldly.

Elena saw Caroline's face start turning red as she opened her mouth to reply and decided to head the conversation off. "Hey, this is the first night off from work I've had all week. Can we not spend it arguing on the sidewalk? In the freezing cold?"

They both looked at her and nodded, and Caroline muttered something about needing to find Tyler and swept up the steps ahead of them. Henry held his arm out to her, and they entered the hotel lobby. Thankfully, the staff had the heaters turned up, and within minutes Elena felt warm enough to peel off her coat. She turned and passed the coat to an attendant, and then moved forward a few steps into the ballroom, Henry coming up behind her.

* * *

><p>Damon leaned against the high table, grateful for the temporary reprieve from the company of his date. Andie was a nice girl, and the company she worked for had given him a lot of business, using his restaurant for many of their functions, so he thought he would repay her by bringing her along with him to the hotel opening. Unfortunately, she seemed to have interpreted the gesture as a date rather than a simple thank you. She kept running her hands down his arms and leaning in far too close whenever she said anything to him, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. He had a sinking feeling that the night wouldn't end too well between them. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to gauge how much longer he had left before she rejoined him, and that's when he saw her. She was standing in the lobby, a few steps away from the open doors to the ballroom. He watched as she let her arms slide out of her coat, and had to bite his lip to keep a groan from escaping as she turned to one of the attendants. The dress she was wearing had obviously been sent from hell just to torture him. He took in the generous swath of skin that was exposed from the base of her neck down to her lower back, and the need to run his fingers over the silky smoothness was so desperate it was like a physical pain. The air seemed to shimmer around her as the lights reflected off the shiny crystals in her hair, and the simple diamonds hanging around her neck and dangling from her ears accentuated her delicate neck and shoulders. He had never seen anything so beautiful. He was about to move towards her, when he saw a man come up behind her. This must be the boyfriend, he thought, his lip curling slightly. He watched him scan the room in front of him, and noticed with disgust how his eyes seemed to light upon every female within leering distance. How he could look at anyone else when he had Elena on his arm was unfathomable to Damon.<p>

"Mr Salvatore?" A voice to his left inquired.

He turned back to find a man with sandy hair smiling at him. "That's me."

"Hi, I'm Alaric Saltzman," the man said, holding out his hand in greeting. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, you just looked like you needed someone to talk to."

Damon smiled briefly, shaking the man's hand. "I'm afraid I don't know all that many people here, Mr Saltzman." he admitted.

"Well, I know them all, which is why I thought I'd come and talk to you." He quipped. "Call me Ric, by the way," he added, sipping on his drink.

"And you can call me Damon," he said, as Andie slid up next to him. "And this is Andie Starr." He held his arm out as he introduced her, sighing inwardly as she used the opportunity to nestle her body next to his, backing up so that his arm encircled her waist. "So, Ric, if you know everybody here, maybe you could help me by pointing out the people I should know in order to get along in this town."

"I can certainly do that," Ric replied, and staring pointing discreetly at various members of the crowd.

* * *

><p>"Would you like me to get us some drinks?" Henry asked her.<p>

Elena smiled at him. "Yes please,"

He moved off in the direction of the free bar, and Elena glanced around the large room. Within seconds she spotted him, his face in profile as he leaned against a high table, talking to another man. The tuxedo he wore enhanced his sleekly muscular physique, and Elena found herself involuntarily licking her lips. Then, as she watched, a woman in a skin tight white dress walked up to him, and he put his arm around her waist. She shook herself slightly, trying to dislodge the sudden trickle of jealousy that ran through her veins.

"Here we are!" Henry placed a champagne glass in her hand and clinked his own against the side of it, before drinking deeply.

Trying to take her mind off Damon and his date – who she could still see out of the corner of her eye – Elena took a huge gulp of the fizzy liquid, before placing the glass on a nearby table. "Let's dance," she said, curling her hand around Henry's arm.

"Well, I'm not that much of a dancer..."

Elena laughed. "Oh come on, just one. It won't kill you, will it?"

He smiled. "I suppose not," he said, and led her onto the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Andie had wandered off in search of another drink as Damon and Ric stood talking about the people of the town. Damon had learned all about the 'founding families'. Apparently, being a history teacher gave you all sorts of insight into the kids and their parents.<p>

"And that, is Elena Gilbert," Ric said, pointing to Elena as she danced with her boyfriend – if that could be called dancing. "Another member of the founding families."

"I didn't know that," Damon said, surprised.

"You know Elena?" Ric asked him.

"Yes... she's a waitress at my restaurant."

"So sad, what happened to her family," Ric was on his fifth glass of bourbon, and his tongue was pleasantly loose.

"What happened?" Damon frowned. He realised he didn't know much about Elena at all.

"Five years ago, both her parents died in a car crash," Ric told him. "Elena was seventeen, and her brother Jeremy was thirteen. The kid went downhill, getting drunk and taking drugs, and their aunt didn't know what to do about it. So, when Elena turned eighteen a few months later, she took over raising Jeremy. It took her a while, but she sorted him out. He's now off at university."

"You sound very proud of her."

"Well, I was her teacher," Ric shrugged. "She was incredibly intelligent and she had a bright future ahead of her, but she put it all on hold for her brother. I respect that." At that moment, a group of people across the room called to the teacher, and he clapped Damon on the shoulder. "Duty calls, my friend," he said, and walked away.

Damon's eyes found Elena again on the dance floor – why was it always so easy? – watching her wince slightly as her boyfriend stood on her toes. He deliberated for a moment, before walking towards her. After all, what could one little dance hurt?

* * *

><p>It soon became very clear to Elena that Henry really wasn't much of a dancer. After shuffling along and trying not to wince as he stepped on her toes, Elena was incredibly relieved as the song came to a close. Just as she was about to step away however, a hand came into view from behind Henry, as someone tapped him on the shoulder.<p>

"Mind if I cut in?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Henry let go of Elena's hand. "I'll just go and mingle for a while." He smiled at her and moved away, back in the direction of the bar.

"Shall we?" Damon asked as the next song began. Elena looked up into his face and tried not to gasp. The deep black of his tuxedo matched his midnight hair, making his eyes even more striking, and Elena felt as though she was drowning in an ocean. He held her hand in his, the other coming to rest on her back, and she bit her lip as electricity flowed outwards from his touch. She looked down as he started to move, watching his feet, hoping to be able to avoid her toes being crushed again. Almost immediately she realised she was in no danger; Damon could dance. His hand was warm on her bare skin – she tried not to compare it to how Henry's had felt rather clammy - and the feel of his firm chest pressed against hers as they moved was filling her head with all the fantasies she had experienced upon their very first meeting. He still smelled fantastic.

"Are you having a good time?" He asked her, and she mentally cursed him for speaking, because talking to him meant looking at him, and looking at him meant that all her senses would be filled with him, and she would be on sensory overload. She was already touching him and smelling him, seeing him and hearing him too would complete the set. Except for taste, she thought, and involuntarily licked her lips. His gaze flicked down to track the movement, and he looked away across the room. "Caroline certainly seems to be enjoying herself," he noted casually.

Elena looked over to see her friend surrounded by people and smiled softly. "She deserves it, it's her night to celebrate." She said.

"What's she celebrating?"

"Caroline's an interior designer," Elena explained. "She decorated this place."

Damon looked around at the tastefully decorated hotel, before turning his gaze back on Elena's friend. It amazed him that someone could have such good taste in interior design and yet decide to dress herself from head to toe in bubble gum pink. "Looks like she's finally had enough attention," he commented as he watched her excuse herself and hurry down a hallway, disappearing through a small door.

"More like she's craving a different kind of attention," Elena replied, giggling slightly. The vibrations went through Damon's chest and he suppressed a moan.

The song came to an end and Damon reluctantly began to let Elena go. He was just about to offer to get her a drink, when a door slamming made them both look up. A blond head was pushing past people in her effort to move quickly, and as Caroline ran past them, Elena saw that her face was streaked with tears.

"Caroline?" She called after her friend, but Caroline didn't stop, just kept running through the ballroom and into the large conservatory on the other side of the room. "Caroline!" Elena dropped Damon's hand and ran after her distraught friend.

* * *

><p>AN: So there we are, I hope it doesn't come across as too disjointed and that you enjoyed it!

* Attilio and Furio Piccirilli are real life 19th century italian sculptors, who moved to America in the late 1800s, and their father's name really was Guiseppe. The story Damon told was my own invention however, as was the statue.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you all so much for all your reviews! From all the emails I've gotten over the past few days, there are at least 60 of you lovely people reading this story! 60! Wow, talk about pressure! ;) I promise I will get around to answering each and every one of your reviews, but the internet here at the moment sucks, so I figured you'd all appreciate another chapter instead! Now this chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I figured that this was a good place to leave it. Oh, and to all of you who are wanting Henry to take a long walk off a short pier, it won't be long now. Just one more chapter appearance for him after this one, promise! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and please please leave a review!

* * *

><p>Caroline was having a fantastic evening. Everyone in town had come up to her at some point during the opening to congratulate her on her accomplishment of modernising the hotel's interior design, and she was loving every single second of it. She was now the proud holder of several business cards, all from people interested in using her services. Things could not be going better. Or maybe they could, she thought, as she saw Tyler Lockwood slide down a corridor and slip through a door. Smiling brightly, she excused herself from the group of people surrounding her, and took off after him. She would grab him as he came out of the bathroom, she thought, and then hopefully they could find somewhere private to continue the conversation. She giggled slightly. Maybe the champagne had gone to her head.<p>

When she slipped through the door however, she noticed that the corridor behind it didn't have any bathrooms, only offices. Maybe Tyler had gotten lost? She wandered down the hall, stopping momentarily to admire the wallpaper she had chosen hanging on the wall. She really had done well. As she ran her hand over the embellished wallpaper, she noticed a small reflection in the shiny silver swirls. Looking up, she saw that one of the office doors was open, a sliver of light peeking through the crack between the door and frame. She stepped closer. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered sounds coming from within the room, but she was too drunk to pay any attention to it. She pushed open the door and silently took in the sight before her. Tyler was there, locked in an embrace with a semi naked girl she thought she might have known from school. She couldn't be sure though, because Tyler's mouth was blocking half of her face.

"Do you like the desk? I picked them out myself."

She spoke softly, but the reaction was like she had set off a cannon in the small room. Tyler wrenched his mouth free and stumbled back several steps. His trousers slipped down to his knees and he tripped, landing on the floor on his backside. At the same time, the girl that had been underneath him – who Caroline now recognised as Amber, the little slut – rolled off the desk and crouched behind it, struggling to rearrange her dress.

"Caroline," Tyler said, holding his arm out to her. "It's not..."

"Are you seriously going to sit there with your pants around your ankles and tell me it's not what it looks like?" Caroline hissed furiously. "You are unbelievable!"

She turned on her heel and slammed the door shut on them. She heard muffled sounds behind her and she ran down the hallway, back the way she came. The door was pulled open behind her and she ran faster, needing to get away. She opened the door and fled through it into the ballroom, not even feeling the tears streaking down her face. She slammed the door in Tyler's face just as he reached it, then ran across the length of the ballroom, not caring who she bumped into. She ran into the conservatory and pushed open the doors that led to the garden. She kept running until she found herself by the small water feature, where she sank down on a stone bench and sat there, letting the tears fall.

* * *

><p>Elena let go of Damon's hand and ran after her friend, skidding to a stop in the conservatory. She hadn't even noticed that Damon had followed her until she spun in a slow circle looking for Caroline in the darkened area and almost smashed into his chest.<p>

"I can't find her! Where did she go? She did run into here, right?"

"Shh, calm down, we'll find her," Damon rubbed her shoulder in comfort. "Do you know what that was about?"

"No," Elena replied, scanning the rest of the room before looking back into the ballroom, just in case she had missed her. "But I think it might have something to do with him." Her eyes narrowed and she nodded her head in the direction of Tyler, who stood off to the side of the ballroom, breathing hard, and his suit looking decidedly rumpled.

Damon followed her gaze and frowned. "What do you think he did to her?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." With a determined frown, Elena attempted to push past Damon so she could confront Tyler, but Damon's put her hands on her shoulders, holding her in place.

"Don't you think we should find Caroline first? Make sure she's okay?"

Elena looked up at him, surprise and gratitude coursing through her. Him thinking of Caroline first was such a sweet thing to do, especially given the fact that she called him all the names under the sun whenever she got within ten feet of him. She was just about to agree and start looking for her friend again, when she heard footsteps approaching them.

"Hey, what's happening back here?" Henry glanced around the darkened conservatory. "Are we allowed to be back here?"

"It's Caroline," Elena said, noticing how Damon stepped away from her as Henry spoke. She tried not to notice how bereft she felt at the loss of his warm hands upon her shoulders. "She ran in here looking really upset, and now we can't find her." She looked up at Henry. "Will you help us look for her?"

"Ah, well, I would of course, but I was just coming to find you to tell you I need to leave now," Henry reached out and grasped her arm gently. "I just have a really busy day tomorrow, I need an early night. Besides," he continued with a slight grin on his face, "crying girls aren't really my thing, you know?" He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'll call you, okay?" He turned and walked away.

"Dick," Damon muttered under his breath.

"What?" Elena said, hearing Damon mumble something.

"I think the door to the garden is open, maybe she went outside?" Damon walked over to the French doors.

"I'll go look, you should get back to your date," Elena pushed open the doors and looked out into the night.

Elena knew he had brought a date? "I'll find her later, it's not important."

"Go and find your date Damon, she'll be wondering where you are." Elena smiled at him and stepped outside. "I'll be fine, really."

"Are you sure?" Damon asked, looking at her intently.

Elena nodded, pushed him slightly on his arm, and walked into the gardens, searching for her friend.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Vick, all the champagne will be gone!" Matt called to his sister as she sat in the car, refreshing her lipstick. "Plus I'm freezing my nuts off standing around out here," he mumbled quietly to himself.<p>

Vicki crawled out of the car and straightened her dress. "Are you this sweet to all your dates?" She said, grabbing her bag and shivering in the cold winter air.

"You're not my date. You forced me to bring you," Matt huffed, locking the car. "You don't get sweetness from me."

"Do I look alright?" Vicki asked her brother, self consciously looking down at her slinky black dress.

Matt rolled his eyes, before nodding. "You look gorgeous."

"Aww, thanks Mattie!" She linked her arm through his and leaned against him as they walked up the steps of the hotel.

"Whoops!" In their rush to get inside and out of the cold, Vicki had bumped into a couple standing just inside the doors. The couple had their arms wrapped around each other and their mouths glued together as they attempted to push through the doors.

"Sorry man," Matt apologised to the guy, clapping his hand on his shoulder. "Didn't see you there."

The man looked up for a moment and grinned as the girl started kissing and licking his neck. "No problem, man."

"Have a nice night," Matt said to the guy, grateful that he hadn't gotten into an argument.

A taxi pulled up by the curb, and the couple moved towards it. The man looked back at Matt and Vicki and winked. "Oh I intend to!" he waved and tumbled into the back of the taxi after the girl.

"I guess he and Elena didn't work out," Vicki mused, handing her coat to a waiting attendant.

"What?" Matt asked, confused.

"I saw Elena and that guy at The Grill a couple of weeks ago. Like I said, I guess they didn't last too long."

Matt turned back to look out the front door, but the taxi was long gone. It didn't mean that guy was Henry though, Matt thought, shaking his head. "Maybe Elena's just friends with the guy."

"Sure," Vicki said, rolling her eyes. "I stick my tongue down all my guy friends' throats."

Matt felt his heart sink down to his stomach. "Did you catch the guy's name when Elena was with him?"

Vicki thought for a moment. "I think she called him Harry?" She shook her head. "No, Henry, that was his name. Why?"

Matt sighed. "Because I talked to her earlier. She said she was coming here with him."

Vicki whistled low through her lips. "Uh oh."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Damon watched Elena walk off into the garden, watching the moonlight catch the crystals in her hair and light up her skin, making her look like some kind of shimmery goddess. He made a quick decision and slipped back into the ballroom. After a few minutes of searching, he found Andie.<p>

"There you are!" Andie exclaimed, looking incredibly pleased to see him. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" She wound her hands around his neck and pressed herself into him. "I missed you," she purred.

Damon fought to hide his grimace as he gently extricated himself from her embrace. "I'm sorry Andie, something came up."

"Never mind, you're here now," she didn't fully relinquish her grip, sliding her hands down his chest before latching them around his upper arm. "Shall we dance?"

"Actually I can't, that's why I came to find you."

Andie frowned up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry Andie, but I have to leave. Something came up with... a member of my staff has an emergency. They need my help."

"Wow, such a dedicated boss," Andie muttered, a little sulkily.

Damon reached into his wallet, took out some cash and pressed it in to her hand. "I'll go call you a cab." She looked disappointed, but Damon couldn't bring himself to care.

"Will you call me?" She called to him as he walked away.

"Uh, yeah," he nodded, thinking it wasn't exactly a lie. He would call her, just when business came up with her company again. He entered the lobby, looking for a cloakroom attendant as he pulled out his phone.

* * *

><p>Elena was so busy looking for Caroline that at first she didn't even notice just how cold it was outside wearing just her dress. She ran through the rose garden, then veered down a path that led to the pond. She stopped on a patch of grass and scanned the dark landscaped gardens ahead of her. She was just starting to feel the cold seeping in through her open sandals when she saw a blond head shining in a sliver of moonlight.<p>

"Caroline," she breathed, and hurried towards her friend. "Care, what happened?"

Her friend hiccupped and turned towards her, the streaks of mascara standing out in stark relief against her pale cheeks. "I really thought... _hic_... me and Tyler were... _hic... _going somewhere, you know?"

Elena wrapped her arms around Caroline's shoulders and held her as she cried, making soothing noises and rubbing circles on her back. They sat on the stone bench for a while, until Caroline calmed down enough to tell her friend what she had walked in on.

"Oh, Care, I'm so sorry," Elena stroked her hair. "Just wait until I get my hands on him, I'm going to _murder_ him!"

Caroline gave a small laugh. "You'll have to fight me for it."

Elena smiled, and as the tension reduced she suddenly started really feeling the cold, and her teeth started to chatter. "Oh my God, it's _freezing_ out here! How have you managed to sit on this bench for so long?"

I didn't even notice, although I'm starting to feel it now," Caroline stood up and started rubbing her arms.

Elena joined her and linked their arms together. "Come on, let's get back inside and warmed up."

"Um, I really don't think I could face walking in their right now."

"You don't have to."

Elena and Caroline turned and looked behind them to find Damon standing on the other side of the bench, both their coats in his hands.

He shrugged. "I figured you girls would need them." He handed Caroline's coat to the blond, and held Elena's coat out so that she could slip her arms in. "My car's all heated up, if you want I can give you both a lift home?"

"What about your date?" Elena asked him.

"She already left, I just called her a taxi," Damon started leading them round the side of the hotel towards the parking lot.

"Why didn't you give her a lift instead?" Elena said, "We could have got ourselves a taxi, then you wouldn't have had to abandon her."

Damon slowed to walk next to her. "It's no trouble," he leaned down and whispered, "actually, you've saved me the trouble of having to decline her invitation for coffee."

His whisper in her ear sent shivers down her spine and she shuddered. "That's mean," she said, hoping her voice sounded steady.

"I don't see how," Damon grinned at her. "At least this way she won't know she's been turned down. Now she'll just think of it as a missed opportunity." He unlocked the car and pulled open the door to the backseat for Caroline, who slid in out of the cold gratefully.

Elena rolled her eyes as he opened the passenger door for her. "A missed opportunity? Cocky much?"

"Very much," Damon winked at her as he shut the door after her.

He drove them to Caroline's apartment. "Do you want to see her up to her door?" Damon asked Elena as the sniffly blond pulled herself out of the backseat. "I can wait down here, then drive you back to your place."

Elena thought for a moment. A night home with Boring Bonnie, or a sleepover with her best friend and a bucket of ice cream? "Actually, I think I'm going to stay with Care tonight," she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. "But thanks for tonight Damon, I really appreciate it." She touched her hand to her shoulder and leaned towards him, before stopping herself suddenly. The heat that she felt from just her hand touching his jacket was so intense she didn't think she could handle her lips touching his cheek. The way her body reacted whenever he was around might make her do something completely stupid, like wind her hands around his neck and refuse to let go. She had a sudden image of herself clinging to him like a spider monkey as he tried to pull her off. "See you at work?"

"Uh, sure," Damon said as she exited the car and walked up the apartment steps with Caroline. She looked like she had been about to kiss him. Why had she stopped? He had been hoping to spend a few moments alone with her as he drove her to her own house. He sighed and drove away, thinking about his own missed opportunity.

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><p>AN: So there we are. Sorry it's so short, but I'm going to try and make it up to you all by getting the next chapter up tonight. Oh, and Daisy you were right, I don't think I will be able to wrap this up in 10 chapters, it's probably going to be more like 15! I hope you liked it, and please review!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, here we are, as promised, another chapter! And OMG! More than 60 reviews! I am speechless, you guys are so awesome and I love you all! (hugs) Oh and this is a long one too, so I hope you enjoy it, and please review!

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><p><em>If you want my body, and you think I'm sexy, come on sugar let me know...<em>

"Ugh, what the hell is that?" Caroline grumbled sleepily.

Elena sat up slowly, pushing her hair out of her eyes and squinting around the room for the source of the tinny music. To her surprise, the sound was coming from her coat, which was slumped over the back of a chair. She tried crawling out of bed, only to get her feet caught in the sheets. "Ow," she mumbled as she landed on her hands and knees. She crawled over to her coat and fumbled around in the pockets, finally pulling out her phone.

"Hello? People trying to sleep over here!"

Elena rolled her eyes at Caroline as she checked the screen. It was Matt. He must have changed her ring tone for his calls the last time they saw each other. Thank God it hadn't gone off somewhere embarrassing.

Holding the phone up to her ear, she sighed. "Matt, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Um, almost lunch time?"

"What?" Scrambling up from her sitting position, Elena checked the bedside clock, seeing that Matt was right. How had she managed to sleep in so late? She thought back to last night. She and Caroline had come home from the hotel, pulled on sweatpants and tank tops, then sat in the living room with a bottle of wine and a big tub of triple chocolate ice cream. As they sat there inventing ways in which Tyler would meet his demise, one bottle had quickly become two, and the girls had been in giggling fits by the time they stumbled into bed.

At least she's seemed to have slept through any hangover, Elena thought gratefully.

"Speaking of lunch, I was wondering if you would meet me at The Grill? Say one-thirty? I'm buying!" Matt said, in what sounded like a very falsely cheery voice.

"Matt, is something wrong? Are you okay?" Elena asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, sweetie!" Matt replied quickly. Then she heard him sigh. "I... I have something I need to tell you, is all."

"What is it?"

"I... I'll tell you over lunch, okay? See you then!" Matt hung up before she could answer.

Elena stared at her phone for a moment, wondering what Matt could have to tell her. She hoped it was nothing serious, but for some reason he sounded even more jumpy than he had whenever she had caught him chatting up other girls when they were together. Well, the only way she was going to find out is when she met up with him, she supposed. Hearing Caroline give a delicate snore from her position on the bed, Elena got up and went to have a shower.

She spent quite a long time in the shower, her thoughts drifting to Damon and where his hands had touched her the night before as she soaped herself, and by the time she came out, Caroline was sitting up in bed, a coffee cup in her hands, pointing to another one on the table. With a grateful sigh, Elena picked up the steaming mug and drank deeply, quenching her alcohol induced thirst.

"You okay?" She asked her friend.

"You know what? I am," Caroline replied, putting her coffee cup down and picking up a nail file. "I had a good cry, you gave me a good hug, and then we both had a good laugh, and now I'm feeling much better." She started filing her already perfect nails.

"Care-"

"Really,Elena, I'm fine. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm mad as hell, but I'll get over it. He's not worth my time." Caroline shrugged.

Elena knew her friend was just putting on a good show, and that she was hurting inside, but she also knew that this was how Caroline dealt with this stuff. She threw herself into acting bubbly and happy until she started feeling that way again.

"I'm meeting Matt for lunch at The Grill, you want to come?" Elena asked, changing the subject as she knew Caroline wanted her to do.

"Thanks but I think I'm going to stay here and make some calls," Caroline said. "I got a lot of business cards last night. If I can remember where I put my purse..."

"I think it's in the kitchen."

As Caroline went to find her purse and take a shower, Elena dried her hair and got dressed. Thankful that she didn't have to borrow any of Caroline's clothes – she had kept a drawer of her own clothes here for just such an emergency ever since they were teenagers – she grabbed her coat, called out a goodbye to Caroline and stepped out into the cold. Wishing she had thought to stuff gloves and a scarf into her drawer at Caroline's, she snuggled into her coat and walked quickly to her house. When she arrived, she stood on the porch, biting her lip. She didn't want another run in with Boring Bonnie, but her car keys were inside in the kitchen. _How bad does it have to get to not want to enter your own home just to avoid your roommate?_ Sighing, she opened the door quietly and tiptoes into the hallway. She was in luck; she heard the sound of some depressing music coming from upstairs in Bonnie's room, so she ran into the kitchen, grabbed her keys and ran back out before Bonnie could find out she was here. She shut the door behind her and jumped in the car, checking the time. She'd get there a bit early, but she'd probably run into someone she knew to pass the time, so she drove to The Grill.

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><p>As Elena entered The Grill, the first person she saw was Tyler. She narrowed her eyes and made to stride over to him, but as soon as he saw her coming, he ducked out of the back entrance. "Coward," she muttered under her breath. She went to the bar instead and ordered herself a soda – her stomach still felt a bit fragile after the night before. She turned around to find a booth in which to wait for Matt, and she saw Vicki waiting tables at the other end of the restaurant. She waved as her friend looked up, but Vicki just bit her lip and rushed off in the direction of the kitchen. <em>Weird<em>, she thought to herself. Normally Vicki was happy and bubbly.

She got comfortable at her table, and it wasn't long before Matt slid in the booth opposite her.

"Hey, sweetie," he said, giving her hand a squeeze and signalling to Vicki to come and take their order. Neither of them ever bothered with the menu; they knew the food The Grill had to offer by heart. "We'll both have our usual, thanks Vick," he said, when his sister reached them. She nodded, and with a quick look at Elena, hurried away without a word.

"Is Vicki alright?" Elena asked. "She seems to be acting a bit weird today."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, Vick's good. She just wants to give us some space, I guess."

Elena realised that matt hadn't looked in her eyes once since he had come in, and she was starting to worry that something was seriously wrong. "Matt, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Let's wait until our lunch arrives, okay?" Matt had picked up his napkin and was shredding the paper into tiny pieces.

Elena put her hand over his to still his fumbling fingers. "Matt, you're starting to scare me. Tell me now, I need to know now."

Matt sighed and pulled his hand through his hair. "Just... promise you won't hate me?"

"Matt," Elena leaned forward, "you cheated on me like a hundred times when we were together, and you're still one of my closest friends. I think we can safely say I could never hate you."

Matt blew out a breath, then told her what he had seen last night. When he had finished, he leaned over and took her hand in his. "I am so sorry, sweetie," he said.

Elena was in a state of shock. She didn't know what to think. "Are you sure?" She asked finally. "It could have been someone else, you haven't actually met Henry."

Matt smiled sadly, "I know, but Vicki said she saw you here with him the other week. She said it was definitely him." He looked down at her now empty glass. "I'll get you another drink."

Elena sat there on her own, thinking through her brief relationship with Henry, and the longer she thought, the more angry she got. He had _used_ her! She thought back to what he had said the night before as he was leaving. _Crying girls aren't really my thing._ Apparently that went for crying sisters too. He had just dumped Bonnie on her, using the promise of a date to get her to go along with it. God she was an _idiot!_ And he was a _bastard._

"Hey, you okay?" Vicki asked her as she set their burgers down on the table.

"I'm pissed off," Elena muttered, looking through her burger to make sure there weren't any pickles. There never were any; the chef knew her well enough by now, but the thought of biting into one accidentally was too gross for words, so she always checked.

"I'm sorry, E," Vicki said sympathetically.

Elena smiled up at her. "Not your fault," she said. "It's not your fault either," she directed at Matt, as he slid back into the booth with her drink.

Matt smiled at her. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, first I'm going to eat my lunch, and then I'm going to tell him where he can shove his boring sister."

"That's my girl."

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><p>"So, did you have a good time last night?" Elena asked as Henry picked up his phone. She was sitting in her car outside her house. She hadn't wanted to make the call at The Grill, with Matt and Vicki as an audience, but she couldn't exactly do it in the house either, what with his sister living there. Well, she was at the moment, anyway.<p>

"Yes, I did thanks, it was great," Henry's voice, now that she thought about it, was reedy and thin, and she found herself grinding her teeth. How had she not noticed it before? "Uh, listen, can I call you back? It's just, I'm a little bit busy at the moment.

"I'm sure you are," Elena said pleasantly. "After all, it must be weird talking on the phone to the girl you went out on a date with last night while the girl you took home from that date is still lying next to you in bed."

There was complete silence on the other end of the line for a moment, before Henry cleared his throat nervously. "Listen, I don't know what you heard, but-"

"Oh, cut the crap, Henry. You bumped into two of my friends while you had your tongue stuck down someone else's throat."

More silence. Then, "You're right. I guess I had too much to drink-"

"Yeah, because that one glass of champagne you had really went to your head." Elena laughed. "Right, do you want to tell Bonnie, or should I?"

"Tell her what?" Henry sounded genuinely confused, and Elena rolled her eyes at the thought that she could have ever found this man attractive.

"You asked me out on a date, hoping it would sweeten me up enough that I would let your sister live with me so that you wouldn't have to deal with her. Well, the game's up, so I want her out. You can have her back."

"Elena, you can't! She's happy with you!"

"Irrelevant. Not my problem. Believe me, I'll be happy when she's gone."

"You wouldn't just throw her out-"

"Wouldn't I? Watch me." Elena hung up the phone and got out of the car. It was time to have a serious talk with Bonnie.

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><p>She found Bonnie in the kitchen, drinking a cup of herbal tea and looking through her photo album of Luka. Again. She looked up at Elena as she came in, threw her bag on the counter and started making herself a cup of coffee.<p>

"How was your night?" Bonnie asked, hurt evident in her voice.

"Crap." Elena replied succinctly, sitting down at the breakfast bar with her coffee.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said. "What happened?"

Elena studied her roommate. To tell her or not to tell her? Oh, to hell with it.

"Bonnie, would you be upset if I told you I've been... kind of seeing Henry?"

Bonnie looked astounded. "You? And Henry? Seriously? But that's great! Why would I be upset?"

"Sorry, Henry said you wouldn't like it. Anyway, I'm not seeing him anymore." She took a long sip of her coffee. "It's over now."

"Oh, thank god for that!"

Elena looked up. "Why?"

"Because he's a complete _nightmare._" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "For your sake, I'm so glad it's over. I mean, I love him to bits but Henry's relationships always end in disaster. Where women are concerned he has the attention span of a goldfish. One minute he's crazy about them, the next minute they're history. Oh God," she covered her mouth, "is that what he's just done to you?"

"No... no... well, kind of, I suppose. I think he's seeing someone else now."

"To be honest, I think you're well rid of him." Bonnie leaned forward, concern etched onto her face. "Are you devastated?"

Devastated. Elena tried to summon up devastation, but it just wasn't there. Humiliation and anger, now they were there in spades, but devastation really wasn't an issue. As she sat there, she realised that the only reason why she had clung on to the idea of dating Henry was because it was a sign that her life was starting to move forward. Thinking about it though, there were many other signs pointing towards the exact same thing. She had a – admittedly not wonderful – roommate, she had a job that she loved, plus a soon to be crippling crush on her boss – okay, maybe that one wasn't such a great thing.

Bonnie seemed to take her silence as an affirmative, because she suddenly reached out and hugged Elena. "I'm so sorry," she said. "But I'm a good listener. You can talk about it as much as you want. It doesn't matter that he's my brother, you just let it all out, get everything off your chest, because I know there's nothing worse than feeling miserable and having nobody else to talk to about it."

"Actually, I don't do it that way," Elena had a sudden brainwave. "I think that endlessly talking and thinking about something only makes the whole situation worse. I prefer out of sight, out of mind. In fact, you could help with it. Make sure I _never_ talk about Henry again."

Bonnie nodded enthusiastically. "I can do that! Of course I'll help you."

"Plus, it might also help if you didn't talk about Luka either. Because it'll only remind me of Henry and to be honest, the less I'm reminded of him, the quicker it'll be before I forget he ever existed."

"Makes sense, I suppose. Right, out of sight, out of mind!"

Elena nodded, feeling pleased with herself. "Oh, just one thing before we start properly, why did you never tell me this about Henry before?"

Bonnie looked surprised. "You never asked. Besides, he's my brother, I'm not going to go around bad-mouthing him to everyone, am I" she went on. "And I never knew there was anything going on between you. If I'd known, I would have told you, I promise."

"But Henry said-"

"Okay, stop," Bonnie said, holding her hands out. "Do you see what you're doing? You're trying to bring the conversation back around to Henry. And it's my job to make sure you don't. So stop thinking about him, he's not worth it."

Elena struggled to keep a straight face. "Right. Thanks."

"Now." Bonnie got up from her stool. "I can make dinner for us if you'd like?"

"Thanks, but I've got to work tonight. In fact, I need to get ready. I'll see you later though?" Elena got up and walked towards the stairs.

"I'll be here."

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><p>The restaurant had been booked for a party that night, and Elena was just finishing tying balloons onto the backs of all the chairs when she heard the front door open. Turning, she saw a delivery man standing there with a big bouquet of flowers in his arms. She signed for them and took them off his hands, searching through the foliage for the message card. <em>For Damon Salvatore.<em> Just then, the man himself walked through from the kitchen. Seeing her, he headed in her direction.

As he reached her, she held out the flowers. "These are for you."

"Why thank you very much, are these for being a great boss?"

"Absolutely," she replied lightly, handing them over. "Best ever. In fact, these were so expensive, I think I'm going to need a raise." She tried looking at the card as he pulled it out of the envelope. "Who are they from really?"

"Nosy," he said, tapping her on the nose with the card.

"Not nosy, just interested." She paused. "Okay, well maybe I am a little nosy. Who are they from?"

"Andie."

"Andy? The guy who delivers the fresh vegetables? Wow, that must have been some bonus you gave him."

"Ha ha. Andie is the woman I took to the hotel opening last night."

"Oh. Well that was nice of her." The mention of the hotel opening reminded Elena of how she had boasted to Damon that she was going with her boyfriend. She pushed back yet another wave of humiliation. "You should call her and thank her."

Damon looked at the flowers with a slightly confused look on his face. "Don't you think it's a bit weird, a girl sending a guy flowers?"

_Yes,_ thought Elena, but she didn't say so. "She just wanted to thank you for a good time."

"Well, I do aim to please," he smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, how can she have had a good time? I abandoned her to look for your friend, and then I practically shoved her in the back of a taxi. How is Caroline, by the way?"

"Oh, she's dealing with it the only way Caroline can," Elena said. "She might come by here later, you'll see what I mean then. Thanks for helping last night."

"No problem, it's what I'm here for." Damon set the bouquet of flowers on the host station.

"Actually, I thought you were here to accuse me of stealing stuff." Elena raised an eyebrow.

"I took a night off last night," he grinned at her, then looked up as a car pulled into the courtyard. "Looks like the party group has turned up."

"You greet, I'll go tell Becky." Elena pushed him slightly towards the door and headed into the kitchen.

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><p>Caroline had turned up about halfway through Elena's shift. She sat at the bar, drinking enough to drown an elephant and laughing and joking with the swarm of office party-ers that had descended on her like locusts.<p>

"I see what you mean about Caroline," Damon came up behind Elena as she stood by the cash register.

Ignoring the shivers up her spine at the feel of his breath on her neck, she looked over to where Caroline was shrieking with laughter. "She's not going to remain upright for much longer. I'll have to call for a cab." She handed the receipt she was printing to Damon. "Can you finish this while I go do that?"

He nodded and she moved off to use the phone. Ten minutes later, the staff were helping all the drunk customers into pre-ordered taxis, and Elena made sure that Caroline got in one on her own, giving the driver some money and her friend's address.

"You're not coming back with me?" Caroline asked as she watched.

"I have to help clean up the restaurant. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. I love you 'Lena."

"Love you too."

Once all the guests were gone, it took another hour to clean up the mess. The staff left one by one until it was only Becky and Elena left.

"Right, what is there left to do?" Becky asked, yawning widely.

"Um, just the sweeping, I think," Elena smiled at her. "You go on, I'll finish up and lock the place."

"You sure?"

"Mm-hmm. You look like you're dead on your feet."

"You are the best! Here," she handed Elena the keys. "Just post them through Damon's door when you're done. Funny how he always manages to run off whenever there's cleaning to be done."

Elena laughed, and went to find the broom. Ten minutes later, she was crunching her way across the gravel and up to Damon's apartment, which was above the antiques centre. She tried to push the keys through the letter box, but her fingers were so cold she dropped them on the mat. Leaning against the door, she leaned down to grab them. Before she reached them however, the door suddenly opened and she found herself sprawled across the doorway.

"I think I like this package delivery system," a voice drawled above her. Leaning down, he helped Elena to her feet.

"I was just dropping off the keys," Elena said, trying desperately to control the blush that was currently flushing her face. He was much too close. And his hand was still on her arm.

"Do you want to come in?" He asked her, pushing the door wide open in invitation.

"I... should really be getting home..." He was still much too close.

"Elena..." He didn't continue, and Elena finally looked up into his eyes. What she saw made her knees suddenly feel weak. With one hand still holding her arm, he lifted the other to push a strand of her hair off her face, his fingers grazing her cheek. He looked her deep in her eyes for what seemed like hours, before his gaze flicked down to her lips. Oh God, he was going to kiss her! He lowered his head until they were inches apart, and Elena felt her head tip up of its own accord to meet him.

"Yiaaaooooowwwww!"

Elena jumped at the sudden noise and wrenched her gaze away from his. "What the hell was that?"

Damon turned to look into his apartment, where the noise had come from. "I don't know," he walked down the hallway, and Elena followed.

Pushing open one of the doors, they found the source of the noise. The cat that Elena had nearly run over, and who regularly stalked customers outside in the courtyard, was lying in the middle of a double bed. There was a tiny ball of fur lying next to her, and as they watched, she quickly gave birth to another.

"I think she likes it here," Damon said, watching the cat licking her new born babies.

_Who wouldn't?_ Elena thought, then shook her head at the thought. "Right, well, it looks like you're going to have your hands full here, so I'm just going to go." She started moving back towards the front door.

"Elena-"

"I'll see you at my next shift!" Elena practically ran out of the door and down the steps, fumbling for her car keys. Kissing Damon Salvatore was a very bad idea.

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><p>AN: *ducks* You all hate me now don't you? I'm sorry, but I promis I'll make it up to you all! And on the plus side, at least Henry's gone now, although he might show up later, just to get his comeuppence! I hope you enjoyed it, and please review. :)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, first of all, I would like to apologise for the seriously bad editing of the last chapter *hangs head in shame*. I left off punctuation, spelled a few things wrong, and my tenses were all over the place. I can explain the tenses - the "S" and the "D" are _right next to each other_ on the damn keyboard, and I'm a clumsy typer. The rest though, well, I was tired, and just not paying attention. I'm sorry, and I hope it didn't interrupt the flow too much for you all. Secondly, I just wanted to say that there probably won't be an update tomorrow - I'm out of hospital (YAY!), and tomorrow I have to go do a big christmas shopping trip, otherwise all my kids will be getting this year will be coal! I also have to reply to all of your lovely reviews, which is going to take me a while, because there are, um - 80! Wow, seriously in love with you all right now! I promise to update as soon as I can though. And thirdly, it's christmas in MF too, and I realised after I wrote this chapter that because they are Americans, they probably should have celebrated Thanksgiving first. Unfortunately, being British, I forgot, so you'll all have to pretend that they all celebrated it out of scene. I hope that's okay. Also, this is the longest chapter yet, but I wanted to give you all - a little taste of at least - what you have been waiting for! As always, I hope you enjoy it, and please review!

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><p>Elena tried to avoid Damon as much as possible during the next two weeks. Her mission was helped along considerably by Damon going antique hunting for the last week, and she hoped that by the time he returned, her embarrassment from their last encounter would have faded to manageable levels.<p>

Christmas was coming, and Elena was standing on a ladder, helping to hang the decorations in the restaurant with the rest of the staff. There was still an hour to go before they opened for customers, so Becky had put Christmas tunes on loudly, and Elena laughed as she watched Andy the vegetable supplier pull Dana around on the dance floor to _Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, _clapping her hands and whistling along with everybody else. Someone bumped into her ladder and she wobbled dangerously. Her foot slipped from its perch, but before she could fall, a pair of strong arms grabbed her around her waist and lowered her gently to the floor. She knew before she turned around who it was; the now regular spark of electricity that shot through her as her fingers grazed his arms told her it was Damon. Embarrassment flooded her cheeks as she turned her head to gaze up at him. Was it her imagination, or was he holding onto her a second too long?

As if reading her thoughts, Damon let go of her and put his hands in his pockets. "You want to be careful, I'm not sure I could afford a lawsuit from an injured employee." He said to her, his ice blue eyes glittering.

"Isn't that what insurance is for?" Elena asked lightly, looking away from him and smoothing out her clothes in an effort to control the need to run her fingers through his hair that was suddenly screaming through her every nerve.

Damon smiled and looked up at the decorations. "The place looks good," he commented, and Elena thought he looked a bit wistful.

Then she realised. Who was he going to spend Christmas with? He was supposed to have a family, a child to lavish with gifts, a fiancée to kiss under the mistletoe, a brother to share a drink with. Who does he have now? She knew from past conversations with him that his mother had died and his father was no longer in the picture, so who did that leave for him?

"Do you want to spend Christmas with me?" She blurted out suddenly. Well, that sounded a bit too personal and together-y. She tried again. "I'm making a big Christmas dinner for my family," she said as he looked at her with a mix of surprise and confusion on his face. "My brother is coming back from college, Matt and Vicki are going to be there, as well as Bonnie and Caroline. If you wanted to, you could join us. If you don't have any other plans. Although you probably do. I just thought, if you didn't, you might want to come along." Aware that she was starting to babble, she shut up, pressing her lips together tightly.

Damon stared at her for a moment. "You missed one off the list," he said finally.

"Huh?"

"The list of people coming to your house for Christmas. You didn't include Henry. Your boyfriend."

Oh. She had forgotten that he didn't know what had happened between her and Henry. "Um, yeah, that... didn't work out." She muttered lamely.

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that." He didn't look very sorry. "Um, I'll think about it, okay?"

"Think about what?" Her head got confused whenever he stood close to her.

"Your invitation? For Christmas?"

"Oh, right! Yes, fine! It's no problem, come or don't, it's up to you!" She was babbling again, and she smiled ruefully to herself. "I mean, if you would like to join us, we would love it, but don't feel as though you'd be putting us out if you don't show, okay?" She looked up at the large ornate clock on the wall. "It's nearly time to open, I should go get ready."

She moved to walk past him, but stopped as he laid his hand gently on her arm.

"Elena?" She looked up at him. "Thanks," he said with a small smile.

"You're welcome," she replied and moved away, her arm tingling. Why did he always affect her like that?

* * *

><p>Christmas morning dawned bright and cold. Elena sat in bed for a while before getting up. She liked to spend a quiet moment to herself, remembering the times she had growing up, when she had a proper family to celebrate Christmas with, her Dad cooking, and her Mom pretending she was helping, while she and Jeremy ran around the house playing with whatever toys they had just unwrapped. Alone in her room, she could have a little cry and feel her heart break just a little bit as she thought about how much she missed them. Then, the self-pitying party of one would be over, and she could move on to getting dressed and having genuine fun with the new family she had built around her.<p>

She had just entered the bathroom she shared with Jeremy – she hadn't wanted to move into her parents' room – when the other door opened.

"Oops, sorry!" Anna said, quickly covering herself more securely with the sheet.

Elena smothered a laugh. "Don't worry about it. You go first, I'll wait."

"You sure?"

"Mm-hmm," Elena backed out into her bedroom, leaving the girl to use the bathroom. Jeremy had turned up two days ago, bringing his new girlfriend with him. She seemed really nice, and smart too. She was studying history, while Jeremy was in the arts program. Elena was glad he had found someone that looked as though she made him happy. He deserved it after everything he had been through. She heard the other door open and close, and she went to get ready.

"Caroline, would you pass me the basting brush?" Elena had her head stuck in the oven, prodding the huge turkey that took up all of the space. She sighed. "This thing isn't even _close_ to being ready."

Caroline's hand appeared in front of her, and she grabbed the utensil, hoping that this would work and they would be able to eat at some point.

"Why did you insist on cooking? You know you suck at it." Caroline said, raising her voice to be heard over the cacophony of sound coming from the living room, as Jeremy and Matt played on the game station.

"Thanks, Care," Elena closed the oven door and stood up, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

"Oh, you know it's true. You burn toast on a daily basis."

Elena sighed. "I guess I was hoping I'd have picked up a few tips from working at the restaurant."

"Don't worry, sis," Jeremy said, coming through into the kitchen. "We can do what we did last year. Wait for you to burn everything, then get take out Chinese."

Elena whipped him with the towel, but he dodged out of reach just in time. "Who won the game?"

"I did, obviously."

"Only because he cheated," Matt said, coming in to grab himself a drink.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Want a rematch?"

"Sure, but not on the game station. How about football?" Matt said, a teasing gleam in his eye. He had been the star of the high school football team, there was no way any of them could beat him in a game of touch out in the yard.

"Sure," Jeremy agreed, as Matt had known he would.

"Vick, you in?" Matt turned to his sister, who nodded. "How about you, Anna?" The small girl nodded her head enthusiastically, her dark hair bouncing."

"How about you two?" Jeremy asked Elena and Caroline.

Elena shook her head. "I need to keep an eye on the food."

"What, in case it makes a run for the nearest decent cook?" Jeremy dodged yet another towel flick. "Caroline?"

"I don't play football. I cheer players." Caroline looked as though Jeremy had asked her to kiss a toad.

"Cool, you can cheer us on then." Jeremy grabbed her by the hand and pulled her through the back door after the others. "We are gonna pound the Donovan's into the ground. Come on Bonnie, you too!" he tossed over his shoulder.

"In your dreams!" Vicki shouted back, the door shutting behind them, leaving Elena alone in the kitchen.

Elena looked around at what was still left to do. She grabbed a pitcher and got the eggnog out of the fridge. As she opened the carton, her foot slid in a patch of grease from the turkey on the floor. As she grabbed at the counter to stop herself from falling, the carton in her hand slipped. Elena looked down at herself. She was covered in sticky yellow stuff. _Oh wonderful._ As she righted herself, her hair swung in front of her and she noticed the ends looked as though they had been dipped in a bowl of custard. _Ew, gross!_ Sighing at her own stupidity, she left the mess on the floor and went to get herself cleaned up.

* * *

><p>She had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the doorbell ring. Wondering who it was, she looked out of her bedroom window down into the backyard. Everyone else was still playing football, Anna screeching with glee as Matt chased after her. Nobody had heard the doorbell, so she quickly wrapped herself up in her old pink dressing gown and ran down the stairs.<p>

She opened the door and found herself looking up into a pair of piercing blue eyes. "Damon," she said, surprised. He hadn't given her any indication that he was going to take her up on her spur of the moment offer, so she had assumed that he had made other arrangements.

"I didn't realise clothing was optional," he said, raking his eyes slowly up and down her body, wrapped in only her dressing gown.

Elena looked down at herself and grabbed the collar, pulling the gown closer together in embarrassment. "Yeah, I had a... uh... bit of a mishap," she shrugged and opened the door wide to let him in.

He handed her a big bouquet of Christmas roses as he stepped through. "For the hostess."

"Thank you," Elena took the flowers from him and held them to her nose, breathing in the heavenly scent. "Listen, the others are all outside playing football," she said, pointing down the hall towards the kitchen. "Why don't you go find them, while I go get dressed."

As she headed for the stairs, she thought he heard him say under his breath, "Don't bother on my account," and she found herself almost tripping as she hurried to get upstairs as fast as she could. She dried her hair, and threw on a pair of red skinny jeans and a black cowl- neck sweater, completing the look with black ballet flats and a pair of small red studs in her ears. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she ran back downstairs. When she reached the kitchen however, the wonderful smell of cooked turkey teased gently at her nostrils. She smiled to herself. Maybe she had picked up a few tips after all. Her hopes were dashed as she rounded corner to find Damon stirring a pot on the stove at the same time as he poured juices over the cooked turkey with a spoon. He had also cleaned up the eggnog mess she had left. Her disappointment in herself was quickly replaced by amazement at his obvious skill in the kitchen.

"You didn't have your oven high enough," he said without turning. "I've sorted it out now though, so I think dinner's almost done."

"I didn't know you could cook," Elena moved towards him and took over basting the turkey.

"I do own a restaurant, you know," he said, giving her an amused glance before turning his attention back to the potatoes.

"Well, yeah, but I've never seen you cook there. I figured the antiques business was what you were really interested in."

Damon stuck his hand in the fridge, pulling out a pot of cream. "History and antiques are what I do. I studied hard and I worked hard to get where I am in the business, but cooking is a hobby for me, passed down through the generations from my great-grandmother." He added the cream to the potatoes and stirred them hard with a wooden spoon, his forearm flexing effortlessly. "In fact, most of the dishes on the menu at the restaurant are old Salvatore family recipes."

Now that Elena thought about it, much of the menu did have a lean towards Italian flavours and traditions.

"Do you have serving dishes?"

Elena looked around the large kitchen helplessly for a moment, before remembering where they were kept. At that moment, the back door swung open, and the rest of her guests piled in, arguing and laughing about who had won the game.

"Is it time to order take out?" Jeremy asked, before stopping at the scene before him. "Wow, this looks like actual _food_."

Damon looked at Elena, and she realised that he hadn't met most of the people standing staring at him.

"Damon, this is my brother, Jeremy," she said, "Jeremy, this is my boss, Damon Salvatore."

Jeremy held out his hand. "You're the guy who tried to have my sister arrested."

"I hardly ever do that anymore," Damon shook his hand.

"And this is Matt, his sister Vicki, Jeremy's girlfriend Anna, and my roommate, Bor- uh, Bonnie." Elena pointed out the rest of the group. "And of course you remember Caroline."

Elena saw Caroline give them both a calculating look, and she hurried to continue, before the blond said anything embarrassing. "Dinner's almost ready, guys, so you might want to go get cleaned up."

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Yes, _Mom_." He left the kitchen, the others following him, and Elena turned back to Damon.

"Why don't you go set the table, and I'll serve the food?" He said to her, taking a quick taste of mashed potatoes off the spoon.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, you're my guest," Elena said, surprised.

"I don't mind, I don't have nearly enough time to cook these days. Go on, I'll start bringing the dishes out." He leaned forward, and then suddenly tapped her on the nose with the spoon.

"Hey!" She cried, bumping his hip with her own, wiping at the mashed potato.

"Here, let me get that for you," he leaned closer, his eyes glittering.

She skittered out of his reach. "Table, I'll uh, go do that now," she mumbled, before she fled out of the room. There was no doubt about it, he was _definitely_ flirting with her. She just didn't know if she wanted him to. He didn't do relationships, that much was obvious from the way he acted. But she wasn't the kind of girl who could do casual sex, her non-experience with Henry had taught her that. He would expect her to keep feelings out of it, and she couldn't do that. _Could she?_

* * *

><p>She had just finished setting the table when the doorbell rang again. She was confused for a moment, before remembering she had invited her Aunt Jenna and her new boyfriend over for Christmas as well. She opened the door with a flourish, but was brought up short by the appearance of her old history teacher.<p>

"Mr. Saltzman?" Then she saw Jenna standing just behind him, and she reached out to give her aunt a hug.

"Hey, I'm not your teacher any more Elena, you can call me Ric," Alaric smiled at her as she pulled the door open to let them in.

"But, I don't understand, how do you two know each other?" She asked as she took their coats.

Jenna smiled as she wound her arm round Ric's waist. "He comes up to the university sometimes to do some research. We met in the library, and well, things went on from there."

Jenna looked really happy, and Elena was pleased for her. She gave her another hug. "I'm so glad you're here! Come on in, dinner's ready."

"You already ordered take out? Oh!" Jenna stopped short at the sight of the dining table, which was now laden with dishes piled high with actual edible food. What held her attention the longest though, was the man at the end of the table, who was busy placing the last of the dishes.

"Damon! Good to see you again," Ric strode round to shake his hand. "I didn't expect to see you here?"

"Elena invited me," Damon said, "she seems to have a penchant for picking up strays-"

"Who is _that?_" Jenna whispered furiously into Elena's ear, unable to take her eyes off the man now talking with her boyfriend.

"_That_ is Damon, my boss," Elena murmured back.

"He's insanely hot!"

"Ssh!"

"What? He _is-_"

At that moment, the others came pouring into the dining room, gasping at the fact that there was food of the non take out variety, and everyone took their places. It was a fun meal, with everyone talking over everybody else, different conversations going on, and the occasional _crack_ of a cracker or party popper that people kept pulling intermittently throughout the feast. Afterwards, they all moved to the living room, where a riotous game of Pictionary started, with everyone arguing over who got to be on Jeremy's team, the fun only stopping long enough for people to shove forkfuls of Christmas cake into their mouths. Even Bonnie seemed to be having fun, as she sat next to Matt and Vicki, giggling at the crude suggestions Matt was shouting out to Ric's drawing.

Eventually though, it was time to call it a night, and people started filtering out through the door. Matt kissed Elena on the cheek and thanked Damon for rescuing the dinner, and left to drive Vicki home. Jenna gave both Jeremy and Elena a hug, and told them she would visit them again soon, and she and Ric left for his apartment. Caroline rolled her eyes and decided it was time she went and visited her mother, giving Elena a kiss and a not so subtle nod in Damon's direction, to which Elena rolled her eyes. Bonnie waved goodnight and staggered upstairs, the sudden foray back into drinking alcohol hitting her harder than everyone else.

"So, shall we start cleaning up?" Damon asked her, picking up a bowl from the coffee table as he stood up.

"Thanks, but that's not necessary," Elena took the bowl from him and raising her voice. "That's Jeremy's job."

Jeremy, who had been attempting to sneak out of the room with Anna, groaned. "Aww, man, do I have to?"

"You know the rule. I cook, you clean." She shoved the bowl into his chest.

"You didn't cook! Damon did!"

"I helped! _You_ played football!"

Jeremy sighed and grabbed Anna's hand. "Come on, the quicker we do this, the quicker we can get upstairs and I can-"

"Ugh! Too much info, Jer!" Elena covered her ears with her hands.

"I was going to say _play my new video game_," Jeremy said, with a wink at Anna.

"Sure you were." Elena watched them go, then turned to Damon. "Thanks for your help today. As you can see, they really appreciated it. I did too."

He smiled at her. "It's no problem, I like cooking," he said, grabbing his black leather jacket from the back of a chair. "Thank you for inviting me. I had fun."

Elena walked him to the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Sure will," he stepped out onto the porch, then turned back to face her. "Merry Christmas, Elena." He leaned forward slightly and placed a kiss on her cheek.

She watched him walk down the driveway and get in his car, feeling the tingle from where his lips had touched her skin slowly fade away. She closed the door and leaned against it, letting out a deep sigh. She walked slowly up the stairs, listening to the shrieks of laughter coming from the kitchen. She didn't think she was going to be able to hold out much longer. Every time she got close to Damon, her entire body felt as though it was on fire from the _need_ to touch him. She thought for a moment. Maybe this was just what she needed. Maybe, if she gave into the urges she felt around him, she could kill two birds with one stone. Quell the lust that surged through her every time she saw her boss, and use casual sex as the next step in moving along with her life. Maybe.

* * *

><p>It was Boxing Day, and the restaurant was packed all evening. People who were sick of the sight of turkey, people who couldn't be bothered to do any more entertaining at home, all came out for the fine dining experience that Salvatore's had to offer. Elena was rushed off her feet all night, and was busy in the kitchen when the last of the customer's left. By the time she had got changed out of her uniform and back into her jeans, she was the only one left. Well, there was one other person.<p>

"Are you ready to go?" Damon asked, standing by the doors, keys in hand.

Elena nodded, and walked out into the cold. Her eyes flicked up to his apartment. _Could she do it?_ She heard him lock the doors behind her, and she took a deep breath. "How many did she have?" She asked, before her courage could fail her.

"Huh?" Damon looked at her, confusion colouring his eyes.

"The cat. How many kittens did she have?"

"Oh. She had four." Damon looked at her, his face carefully composed. "Would you like to come up and see them?"

"You kept them?"

"I like cats." He shrugged and started walking towards his front door. "Plus, Allie's calmed down a lot since she had the kittens, she hardly ever tries to kill me anymore."

"Allie?"

"Yeah," he smiled crookedly. "As in 'Alley Cat'. I haven't named the kittens though." He opened the door and held it open for her. "They're in the living room now, through there." He pointed to a door on the left. "Do you want a glass of wine?"

_Yes please, bucket sized if you've got them._ "That sounds great, thanks. Not too much though, I'm driving."

Damon found her minutes later sitting on the floor, a kitten in her lap and another climbing up her arm. He stood still for a moment, watching how her eyes lit up with delight, the smile on her face so bright you would think the sun was shining in his living room. She looked up at him and he held a glass out to her. She extricated the kittens, putting them back with their mother, and accepted the drink, crawling over to the sofa. She had taken off her jacket and shoes, and the sparkly black top shimmered and reflected in her large doe brown eyes. She was breathtaking.

"How long have you lived here?" She asked, taking a long sip of her wine.

Damon struggled to keep his gaze on her face as he answered. "Just over a year," he said, letting out a silent sigh of relief when his voice came out steady.

"And you still haven't decorated?" She looked around the room, surprised that it wasn't filled with antiques and historical artefacts.

"I never got around to it," he admitted.

Elena drank more wine quickly. She could feel her courage starting to fade; she was having trouble even looking him in the eye.

"Katherine was in the middle of picking out decorations when she-" he stopped suddenly, and the pain evident in his voice made her reach out to him.

"Becky told me what happened," she said, laying her hand on his knee. "I'm so sorry. You must have gone through hell."

"Yeah, that pretty much covers it," he looked up at her. "I'm sorry for what happened with you and your boyfriend. Caroline told me yesterday," he explained at her confused look.

_Of course she did._ Silently vowing to strangle her friend the next time she saw her, Elena shrugged. "It was never serious. For him anyway. I think that was the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've always been the type to have serious relationships, you know? I mean, I had one boyfriend though out high school. Then I was in a relationship with Matt for three years. And now, I'm at this place in my life where I can start to move forward, but for some reason, I keep using the same old patterns. Everyone goes through this phase of having casual relationships, and I want to do that too, only, I'm not sure how to go about it." Elena was aware that she was rambling, but the wine coupled with an empty stomach was starting to affect her head.

"You want to have casual sex?" Damon asked slowly.

Elena nodded her head, and had to put her hand up to her chin to get it to stop. "Exactly. Like Caroline does. Or did, until she met Tyler. Like Matt does. Or you."

"Me?"

"Well, yes. I mean, you don't want to have a relationship with somebody right now, do you?"

"No, I don't want a relationship with somebody." _I want a relationship with you._

"Exactly. And I've realised that I don't want one either. I just want to... experience life a bit. Experience... other people." She looked at him intently, and she saw his eyes widen a fraction as he understood. _Would he make the first move? Or would-_ She didn't get to finish her thought as his lips crashed down on hers.

* * *

><p><em>Well, this is awkward<em>. Elena lay in Damon's bed, listening to his steady breathing behind her, watching the light filter through the curtains as the early morning sun made its presence known. She felt his arm curling around her waist, his hand resting on her stomach, and her thoughts drifted back to last night. Every moment had been amazing; just thinking about it brought back the sensations she had felt as he had touched her. She had never known anything like it, the heat and electricity between them had melted every bone in her body, and she didn't want to think about the fact that she might never experience it again. _What do I do now?_ She thought. She should have talked to Caroline, or Matt, before trying out this casual sex thing. Was she supposed to wake him up? Make him breakfast? Lie there and hope he'd want to snuggle? No, people leave after this sort of thing, don't they? They don't lie in bed, hoping for coffee and croissants!

Elena carefully lifted his arm enough to slide out of bed. Quickly, she gathered her things that had been scattered across the bedroom floor the night before, silently sliding her clothes on. Looking for her shoe, she found it by Damon's side of the bed. In his sleep, he looked like an angel. The urge to pull off her clothes and slide back into his arms was almost overwhelming, and she looked away quickly. She quietly padded out of the bedroom and slipped through the front door. Well she had done it, casual sex without the emotions. She slid behind the wheel of her car, trying to ignore her heart that was telling her otherwise.

* * *

><p>Damon woke up slowly, feeling the chill from the empty side of the bed. He sat up and looked around him. Every trace of her was gone. He got up out of bed, pulled on a pair of black pajama pants and went to search the rest of the apartment. As he'd suspected, it was empty, save for some mewling kittens. He sank down onto the sofa and put his head in his hands. He knew it had been a mistake. He had listened as she spoke and knew that she wasn't ready for a relationship, that she had only wanted sex with him and nothing else. He knew as he looked in her eyes that that would never be enough for him, knew he should pull back and tell her the truth about how he felt, but the need to have her in his arms had overridden everything else his brain was telling him. He had planned on just kissing her, just to get a taste of her, before telling her that they shouldn't do this, but the moment she had moaned his name, he had come undone.<p>

The doorbell rang, and his heart leapt in his chest as he looked up. Had she come back? He jumped up and hurried to the door, planning on sweeping her into his arms and telling her he would never let her go.

He pulled open the door. "Ele-" He stopped. And stared at the green eyed baby before him.

"It's Christmas," said the woman holding the little girl. "I thought you might like to see Millie."

"What are you doing here?"

Katherine's eyes glittered with unshed tears. "Oh Damon, I was hoping that maybe you'd like to see me again too."

* * *

><p>AN: Well, there you have it! And yes, another obstacle *ducks* Well, they wouldn't be DE without the obstacles, right? I hope you enjoyed it, and please review.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long for me to update, but I've been really busy at home and just didn't have the time to sit down and write. I also had a bit of trouble with this chapter - I couldn't work out which character I should let speak first. My friend Ciara however, told me that it would be cruel of me to make you wait, wondering how Damon had reacted to Katherine showing up, so he gets to go first, which unfortunately means we have to deal with Katherine (Ugh!). Oh, and just to let you know, there is no physical resemblance between Katherine and Elena in this fic.

A/N 2: I was told I made a British faux pas in the last chapter, as I referred to "Boxing Day", which apparently isn't celebrated in the US. Thank you to **Scarlett2112** for pointing that out to me! For those interested, Boxing Day is a tradition upheld since the Victorian era, where wealthy people used to box up their leftovers and other small gifts the day after Christmas Day, and give them to the poor. Nowadays though, it's just a national holiday. As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review!

* * *

><p>Katherine sat on the leather sofa, in exactly the same spot Elena had been sitting, before Damon had leaned over and kissed her. The morning sun shining through the curtains fell upon her black curls that he used to think were so soft. Damon couldn't help but feel as though they looked rather dull and lifeless, next to Elena's lustrous long brown locks that he had been sliding his fingers through less than twelve hours ago. Her grey eyes looked pale and cold, next to the warmth of Elena's large chocolate brown ones.<p>

Damon turned his head away from her, not wanting to look at the woman who had broken his heart sitting where the woman who had the ability to mend it should be right now. His gaze snagged on the other occupant of the couch, who was currently fast asleep, snoring gently. Millie wore a powder pink snowsuit, her dark hair sticking out in tufts around the hood. With her eyes closed, it was easy for Damon to forget the colour of her eyes; the green that marked her out as the daughter of his brother. He had spent every day since reading the letter Katherine had left for him wondering how he could have missed those green eyes, how he could have ever looked into those large orbs and not seen the signs that she wasn't his child. Looking at her now as she slept, he finally understood. Love for the small baby constricted his chest in painful bands, the need to hold her in his arms almost as strong as his need for Elena. The only thing currently stopping him from picking her up, tucking her under his chin and breathing in the familiar baby smell of her head was the knowledge that this was _not_ his daughter. Even worse, this was his _niece_. The knowledge of this tore him up inside, the need to have this little baby back in his life at war with the strong desire to throw her mother out of the front door.

"Damon, aren't you going to say anything?"

Katherine's voice cut through him, and he closed his eyes briefly against the memories that flooded his mind at the sound, both good and bad. Mostly bad, he noted, but he didn't know at that moment whether that was because the pain of her betrayal was still so fresh, or because they didn't actually have all that many good memories together.

He sighed. "What do you want me to say, Katherine?"

"I don't know, maybe that you're happy to see us? Maybe that you're glad we're here?" Katherine's grey eyes filled with tears as she gazed at him, her hands clenched into fists in her lap.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with... my brother, playing happy families with him for Christmas?" Damon couldn't stand the thought of saying his brother's name out loud.

"Why am I here?" Katherine attempted a little laugh, but it came out as more of a sob. "Because I realised that this was where I was supposed to be. I never should have left." Tears started to fall in earnest, dripping down her cheeks as she tried to keep her face composed. "Oh Damon, I'm so sorry! I don't know how I messed up so badly!" She buried her face in her hands and rocked forward.

Not yet ready to forgive her, but needing to hear the full story straight from her instead of in a letter, Damon sat down on the armchair across from her. "Tell me what happened," he said, taking a deep breath and trying to keep his voice steady. "Start at the beginning, and I mean the very beginning, when Millie was conceived." His gaze slid once again over to the tiny baby, who was now sleeping fitfully, the voices disturbing her rest.

"It was that weekend when you were down in Georgia, at that antique auction," Katherine hiccupped slightly, staring down at the floor between them. "You wouldn't let me come with you, you said I would have been bored and I should stay here."

As far as Damon remembered, she had seemed annoyed when he told her that he wouldn't have time for shopping, and seemed glad of the option of not having to come.

Katherine continued. "We hadn't been spending a lot of time together. You had been so focused on getting the restaurant and the store up and running during the day, and you were so tired at night, and I guess I just felt... neglected. I don't blame you!" She exclaimed, noticing the look of increasing incredulity on Damon's face. "I'm just... I'm trying to explain how I was feeling." She took a deep breath. "Stefan came round to see you, and he noticed that I was upset, so he invited himself in. We had a couple of bottles of wine, and one thing led to another... I know it was stupid and wrong, but when I woke up the next morning, I swore that I would be more understanding of how hard you work, for us! I promised myself that I would make it up to you, and never do anything to hurt you ever again!" Her eyes drifted down to the baby beside her, and she reached out a hand to stroke Millie's leg. "And then I found out I was pregnant." She looked at Damon. "I prayed so hard that the baby would be yours, but as soon as she was born, I just knew. I had to do the right thing, even though I knew it would hurt you, I had to tell Stefan. He had a right to know."

"So, Stefan came in on his white horse to rescue you did he?" Damon said, a bored tone in his voice.

Katherine huffed. "Hardly. He insisted on a DNA test to confirm it before he would do anything, even meet her." Katherine sighed. "When the results came through, he told me to pack up my stuff and come and live with him. I... I didn't know what else to do. I knew you wouldn't want me anymore once you found out the truth. I didn't have any other option."

"So why are you here now? A little visit for Christmas?" Damon said scathingly.

"No! I'm here because leaving was the biggest mistake I ever made!"

"You mean apart from sleeping with your fiance's brother." Damon raised an eyebrow at her. "What's the matter, happily ever after with my brother not quite what you expected?"

"It was awful, Damon. He never wanted to spend any time with her. We had a day nanny, and a night nanny, there was always someone else to take care of her. I don't think he ever even fed her once, and I know he never changed her. He treated me like some kind of possession, trotting me out for work functions, before putting me back in my box. It was like he didn't want anything to do with either of us." Katherine sniffed, wiping the tears from her face with the backs of her fingers, before leaning forward in her seat, capturing his gaze with her own. "I realised that Millie would have had a much better life with you as her father, and that I never should have left you. Please Damon," she pleaded, as Millie woke up next to her. She picked the baby up and held her close. "Please, for Millie, won't you give us another chance?"

* * *

><p>Elena pulled her car into the parking lot of Salvatore's, trying to get her shaking hands under control. She couldn't do this. She couldn't work with Damon all day and pretend that what had happened between them the night before hadn't affected her. He would expect her to see it as it was – a one night stand. It was what he wanted, he didn't want a relationship. Even if she hadn't heard it straight from his own mouth, it was obvious from the way he acted. He steered clear of all the beautiful women that threw themselves at him in the restaurant. He could have a fun night with any one of them, but the reason why he didn't was because he didn't want the emotions that came with it. It was why he had never called back the girl who had sent him flowers. Elena sighed and leaned her head against the steering wheel. And now, she'd promised him that she wouldn't be like that, that a no strings attached night was exactly what she wanted too. She had thought she could do it, she really did, but this just proved that casual sex was not something she could do. She took a deep breath and got out of the car, walking quickly into the restaurant to get out of the cold. She'll just have to try and avoid him until she got over this crush. And take this as a lesson that casual sex was not a thing she should ever try again.<p>

She was so busy giving herself a silent talking to, that she didn't notice that all of the staff members had gathered against the windows, looking out into the courtyard. She looked around her. Nothing had been done; the tables weren't set, the Christmas lights on the tree hadn't been lit, and even the floor hadn't been cleaned. She looked back through the front door, but couldn't work out for the life of her what they were all staring and whispering about. There was a strange car there, but that was about it. She walked over to the crowd by the windows, noticing Becky right at the centre, her fingers pulling the blinds apart as she stared up at Damon's apartment door.

"What's going on?" She asked, unable to stop herself from looking out as well.

Becky turned at the sound of her voice, and looked around at the rest of the staff. "Go!" She cried at them, making shooing movements with her hands. "He'll know we know if he comes in here and finds that nothing's been done!"

Dana moved away to start setting the tables, casting a regretful look at the windows. The rest followed her, moving into the kitchen and the staff room to get ready. Elena made a move to follow them, but Becky's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"You were here late last night," she said, turning back to her previous stance of peering through the blinds. Elena's heart gave an unpleasant lurch. Surely none of them knew what had happened last night? "Did she arrive then?"

_Oh, I 'arrived' all right. Several times, in fact._ Elena felt a blush crawl up her neck, and she mentally gave herself a slap.

"Who?"

"OMG! I keep forgetting you haven't been here long!" Becky pulled her closer to the window and pointed through the blinds. "_That_ is Katherine's car."

"_What?"_ Elena pulled the blinds apart herself to get a better look at the Mercedes. It was parked right outside Damon's apartment, she now noticed. "What is she doing here? I don't understand." That was an understatement. Elena doubted she could work out how to walk right at this moment.

"Huh, you and me both." Becky huffed. "How could he be so _stupid?_ Letting her back in there, what is he thinking? They've been in there _ages!_" Becky was beside herself, staring at the apartment door as though she could see through it. "Her car was here when I pulled up, and that was a couple of hours ago."

Elena thought she might pass out. Thank God she'd got out of there when she had. She had no idea what would have happened if Katherine had turned up while she was still there, but she was certain that it wouldn't have been fun.

Becky's fingers suddenly clenched tightly around Elena's wrist and she winced. "They're coming out!" Becky squeaked, backing away from the window so quickly she almost knocked Elena over. "Quick! Get everything ready! Look busy! I think they're coming in here!" She shouted to the rest of the staff, who immediately busied themselves with their tasks, all of them turned away from the door. _Right, because _that_ doesn't look suspicious._

"Becky, I need to go change." Elena pried her manager's fingers off her arm and nearly fled to the safety of the staff room. Oh God, she couldn't be here. She couldn't do this. How was she supposed to act like nothing had happened while he paraded his fixed relationship in front of her? She stayed in the staff room, trying her best not to have a panic attack, until Dana came to see where she was. She took a deep breath and walked out into the restaurant. She looked around cautiously, but couldn't see him anywhere. She breathed out a sigh of relief. Maybe they hadn't come in at all.

One look at Becky's face as she ran up to her told her she was wrong. The woman was practically bursting at the seams with her need to spill all the gossip.

"She's back! And she brought Millie!" _Damon's almost-daughter,_ Elena mentally supplied to herself.

"Are they staying?" She couldn't stop herself from asking, but she did manage to speak in a casually interested voice. Or so she hoped.

"Looks like it," Becky said, rolling her eyes. "I couldn't ask too many questions, she was standing right next to him." She looked incredibly put out by this. "I'll corner him later, find out what's going on then."

"Is it really any of our business?" Elena asked. Becky had a penchant for gossip, but straight up asking Damon what was going on sounded a little too much, even for her.

"Of course it is!" Becky looked astounded that Elena could think otherwise. "If she's sticking around, we need to know!" She nodded her head with certainty. "We need to know if she's going to have anything to do with the businesses, don't we?"

_Oh, God, that would be just _perfect, _wouldn't it?_ "Did she have much to do with it before?" Elena asked, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.

"Not really," Becky wrinkled her nose in distaste. "She just used to swan about like she owned the place, telling us all what to do."

_Fantastic. Just what I need, being ordered about by the girlfriend of the man I slept with._ Elena resisted the urge to curl into a ball and start rocking. She was aware that she was becoming close to hyperventilating.

"I should start seating the customers," she murmured to Becky, shooting a grateful look at the people who had just come through the door. She quickly left Becky, and threw herself into her work, hoping to forget everything else.

It worked for a while; the customers were all in good moods, the Christmas spirit apparently still in the air. It was towards the end of her shift, when she felt eyes on her back, and she turned around to see Damon standing beside the kitchen staring at her. Oh God, how was it _possible_ for her entire body to react to his presence across a crowded room? She felt tingles travel up and down her spine, and her eyelids fluttered slightly as images of the night before flooded her mind.

"Excuse me, are those for us?" A voice came from behind her.

She whirled around, nearly dropping the plates of desserts she held in her hands. "Yes, I'm so sorry." She put the plates down and turned back to the kitchen, but to her relief she saw that he had gone.

She was helping the last of the guests into their coats when she saw Becky come out of the kitchen, and she had a sudden brain wave. What she needed was some space to get her head together, get over this stupid crush, so she could look her boss in the face without wanting to throw herself at him.

"Becky, I need a favour," she grabbed her friend and pulled her aside.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Time off, if you can spare me." Elena crossed her fingers behind her back. They were coming up to New Year, and she knew that the restaurant would be packed.

"When?" Becky asked, then her eyes widened as she saw Elena's nervous expression. "You mean now?"

"Yeah," Elena bit her bottom lip. "It's just, my brother's back from college at the moment, and I really want to spend some time with him before he has to go back, you know?" It wasn't really an excuse. She fully intended on spending as much time as she could with Jeremy and Anna. When they made it out of the bedroom, that is.

Becky nodded her head in understanding, and Elena breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Of course," she said, reaching out and squeezing Elena's arm. "I'd want to spend time with my brothers too, if I had the chance. I'll work something out. I can probably give you a week, would that be okay?"

Elena nodded. She would take as much time as she could get. "That would be fantastic, Becky. Thanks, I mean it." She gave her a quick hug. "And tell whoever you get to cover me that I'll owe them, okay?" She went to the staff room to change out of her uniform, glad that her plan had worked out. Not seeing Damon and Katherine for a week would give her time to get over it and move on. Or so she hoped.

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><p>As usual, Elena was one of the last to leave. She said good night to Becky as the other woman went around checking the lights were all turned off, and hurried out of the door, eager to get home and have a nice long cry in a nice hot bath.<p>

"Elena," the velvety voice slid over her, sending tingles up and down her spine. _How did he manage to _do _that? Did he take classes or something? Seduction 101: How to turn a girl into jell-o just by saying her name. _

"Hey," she replied, busying herself with finding her car keys so that she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Listen... I know you've probably noticed that..."

"Katherine's back," Elena supplied for him, surprised that her voice came out steady.

"Um, yeah. She's brought Millie with her, too. I just... after last night..." Damon faltered again, and Elena realised he was trying to let her down gently.

"You wanted to make sure there was no weirdness between us." She finished for him again. "Damon, it's okay," she went on, before he could speak. "Last night was just a one-time thing, right? It didn't mean anything!" She laughed slightly, to cover the sound of her heart breaking a little bit. "I'm not going to say anything, you don't need to worry." She nodded at him.

"Right, if you're sure" Damon said, a look of slight disbelief on his face, and Elena cringed inwardly. Oh God, had he been thinking she had been harbouring some raging feelings for him? Had she been _that_ obvious?

"Absolutely," Elena nodded again. "Is she staying?" She blurted out suddenly. "I mean, am I allowed to ask what's going on? Are you okay?"

Damon opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment his apartment door opened and Katherine rushed out. Elena gulped. Had the woman smelled her perfume on the sheets and about to accuse her of sleeping with her boss?

"Hi!" Katherine said as she approached them. "Listen, could you do us a favour?" She spoke directly to Elena, who was standing by her car, frozen in disbelief. "Could you watch over Millie for a while? Damon and I really need to spend some time together, and we could really do with a babysitter."

Elena's disbelief ratcheted up even higher, and for a moment she couldn't answer. "Sorry, I can't," she finally managed to get out, unlocking her car and opening the door. "I've got plans tonight." _A plan involving a vat of alcohol and a dozen boxes of tissues._

"Really?" Katherine looked astounded, and Elena sighed. Did she really come across to _everyone_ as someone with no social life? "Are you sure it isn't something you could cancel?"

_This girl in unbelievable!_ "No, sorry, it really isn't." Elena gave the woman a cheery smile and slid into the car.

"It doesn't matter," Damon said as Katherine opened her mouth to speak again. "We're not going anywhere."

"Oh, but-"

"Katherine, think about it," Damon interrupted her. "I haven't seen Millie in months. Why would I want to leave her with anybody else?" He turned back to Elena. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Oh, no, I've got the week off. I'm spending some time with my brother," she explained at his questioning look. She shut the door quickly and started the engine, giving them both a wave as she drove off, suddenly even more thankful she had had the idea of taking some time off. She definitely needed a time-out from her life for five minutes.

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><p>AN: So, there we go! Isn't Katherine a cow? Don't worry, she'll be gone soon. At least I hope ;) I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay, we're now up to chapter 10. There's not much DE in this one - I had to give Katherine the chance to really get her claws in - but I promise, it will be coming soon! And, OMG, over 100 reviews! I love you guys so much, I am speechless! So, I hope you enjoy this next installment, and please review!

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><p>It was Jeremy and Anna's last night in Mystic Falls, and everyone had decided to go to The Grill for dinner as a proper send off. Caroline was there, as well as Bonnie, and Jenna and Ric, and Matt too. Vicki was working, but she kept coming over whenever she had a spare minute to join in the fun. Caroline, who seemed to have noticed that Elena wasn't really feeling the party atmosphere – although she was trying her best to put on a good show – ordered a bottle of Tequila, and they all did shots while trying to play pool.<p>

"He'll be back before you know it, 'Lena," Caroline whispered to her friend as they took a quick bathroom break.

The alcohol currently coursing through her system made Elena think for a moment that she meant Damon, but then she realised she was actually referring to Jeremy. She was enormously grateful that her friend had no idea what was going on – or what almost went on, or went on and then stopped, or whatever. The Tequila was making her head fuzzy. She had to repeatedly remind herself not to blurt anything out. Trying to hold on to a secret from your best friend while drunk was incredibly hard, Elena realised. Especially when that friend could usually sniff out gossip from a hundred mile radius.

"I know," she nodded, checking her make up in the bathroom mirror. "It's just been nice, having the house full of people again. I'm going to miss it, that's all."

"You'll still have Bonnie though," Caroline gave her friend a hug, managing to smear bright pink lipstick up Elena's arm. "Oops, sorry!"

This was true, she did have Bonnie who, amazingly enough, had stopped being quite so boring recently. No longer able to talk about Luka, the girl had actually become almost fun, and she and Elena had spent a few evenings together, eating take out and laughing at made for TV movies. They had even planned on going shopping with Caroline tomorrow, after Elena had dropped Jeremy and Anna at the airport. The blond was insisting on revamping Bonnie's wardrobe. "Out with the sucky boyfriend, in with the Prada knock-offs!" Caroline had exclaimed brightly.

The girls left the bathroom and went to join their family back at the pool table, only to find that they'd moved on to dancing. Jeremy and his girlfriend were doing something that could only be described as a weird limbo dance, but was probably supposed to be the tango. Jenna and Ric were holding each other, their dance moves far too slow for the current song, but they looked so wrapped up in each other that they probably wouldn't notice if the band suddenly started playing the Mickey Mouse theme tune. Elena smiled, glad that her remaining family members had found people who made them happy. Her smile turned wistful as she remembered her own less than stellar dating adventures recently. Speaking of dating...

"Oh, my God!" Caroline suddenly burst out, grabbing Elena's arm tightly and whirling her around on the spot, facing them away from the bar.

"What?"

"That... _slut_ Amber is here!" Caroline's voice was getting higher and higher with every word she spoke. Soon she would be speaking in a pitch that only dogs could hear. "And... you won't believe this! Guess who she's sitting with!"

Elena sneaked a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the bar. The girl that Caroline had found with Tyler on the night of the hotel opening was indeed sitting at the bar, looking very cosy with the guy lounging in the stool next to her. Elena's gaze flicked over him once, before coming back to rest on him as he turned around.

"That's Henry!"

"Yup. Seems _Amber _isn't a one guy at a time kind of girl," Caroline sneered. "God, I was having such a nice time too! Why can't they go away?" She whined, stamping her high heeled foot slightly.

"Leave it to me." Vicki came up behind them, changed out of her uniform now that her shift was over. The two girls watched as she strode right up to the couple sitting at the bar and inserted herself between them, causing Amber to drop her hand away from Henry's leg.

"Hey, sweetie!" Vicki said, running her hands up Henry's chest and grabbing hold of the lapels of his jacket. "I've got great news!" The music died down, and her voice was loud enough to carry to Elena and Caroline standing in the corner. "The doctor said the swelling and the itching should go down soon, but we've got to keep using the ointment." She let go of his jacket, shoving him slightly, and he wobbled on his stool. Then she turned to Amber and smiled. "She's cute, baby!" She leaned forward and placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder, letting her fingers trail slightly over Amber's bare skin. "We were just going home. Wanna come join us?" She winked meaningfully.

Amber shot a disgusted look at Henry, before running across the dance floor over to the pool tables, where Tyler and a few friends had taken over a table. Elena and Caroline watched as she leaned over and whispered in his ear, before he took a stumbling step back, clearly horrified. Henry made a quick escape, before Tyler could find out from him what kind of STI he might have given them, and ran through the front doors.

"Well, that takes care of that." Vicki slid back up to them, nodding her head proudly. Caroline and Elena looked at each other for a moment, and burst into giggles. Jeremy, who hadn't heard all the commotion, came to see what was going on, but neither of the girls could catch their breath long enough to tell him what had happened. Elena saw Bonnie approaching them through the crowded dance floor, and she attempted to sober herself up, nudging Caroline with her elbow. They might now be almost friends with her roommate, but she didn't think she would find what Vicki had done to her brother all that amusing.

"Hey, Bon," Elena said, taking a deep breath and swallowing down the remainder of her giggles. "Have you had a good time tonight?"

"I have, actually," Bonnie said, a small smile transforming her normally sombre expression into something actually quite beautiful. "I was asked out by someone. I have a date next weekend!"

"Bonnie, that's fantastic! I'm so pleased for you!" Elena was too. This was a good sign that Bonnie had finally moved on from the disaster that had been her last relationship, and she would hopefully become someone Elena truly enjoyed being friends with.

"We _have_ to go shopping tomorrow now!" Caroline exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "We have to find you the perfect outfit for you to knock him dead!"

Bonnie looked a bit daunted by this, so Elena slung her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll be there, I won't let her pick anything too revealing." She hugged her in reassurance.

Bonnie gave her a grateful smile, while Caroline huffed in annoyance. "You always spoil my fun!" She pouted.

Elena slung her other arm over Caroline's shoulders, the alcohol she had consumed making her feel very friendly all of a sudden. "Come on, let's get Jeremy and Anna home, we need to be up early for them to catch their flight."

Together the three girls rounded up Jeremy and Anna, helped Jenna and Ric into a taxi, and said goodbye to Matt and Vicki, Elena giving the girl an extra hug for doing them all a favour. Then the five of them poured into their own taxi, and headed home for the night.

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><p>Elena stumbled around her room the next morning, trying to get ready while dealing with an enormous hangover. Caroline had insisted they carry on drinking when they got home, and the five of them had danced around the living room for a few more hours, before tumbling into bed.<p>

Holding her head in one hand while searching for aspirin in the medicine cabinet with the other, Elena used her shoulder to bang on the door that separated Jeremy's room from the bathroom. "Jer! Anna! Come on, we gotta go!"

Caroline groaned at the sound of her voice, turning over in Elena's bed. "Were you always this loud in the mornings?"

"Hurry up and get dressed, we need to leave soon." Elena gulped down two aspirin with a glass of water and went to her closet to find something to wear.

"Why? It's not like I have a plane to catch." Caroline flopped back down on the pillows.

Elena picked up a cushion from the floor and threw it at her best friend, who yelped. "No, but we do have shopping plans for straight after, so get moving!"

Caroline sighed, but got up, searching through her own drawer in Elena's chest for some clothes. She picked up a pale green top and bubble gum pink skirt and held them out with a delighted smile. "Ooh, I forgot about these!" She gave the clothes a quick hug, before running off to find a free bathroom to use.

Elena quickly pulled on some skinny black jeans and a cream polo neck sweater, brushing her hair back from her face and pulling it up in a messy ponytail. Then she went round to Jeremy's bedroom door and knocked loudly. When she heard sounds of movement coming from inside the room, she moved to go downstairs, shouting over her shoulder. "I'm putting on some coffee. Be down in 10 minutes!"

"Yes Mom!" Caroline's voice floated out to her from the guest bathroom.

Downstairs, she found Bonnie already hunched over a mug of coffee. The girl had only recently started drinking again, and the alcohol seemed to affect her worse than everyone else. Silently, she refilled the coffee machine and made herself a cup, sipping it slowly, letting the caffeine work its magic.

"Ready to shop, girls?" Caroline came bounding into the kitchen, and both Elena and Bonnie winced at her cheerfulness.

The sound of Jeremy bumping a couple of suitcases down the stairs came to them, and Elena looked around for her purse. Grabbing it, she walked through the hallway to the front door. "Talk later. Caffeine now." She said to Caroline, as they all left the house with travel mugs full of coffee.

Saying goodbye to Jeremy hadn't been as hard as the last time. Maybe it was because this time she knew he had someone with him out there, or maybe she had just become used to him being off on his own. Either way, this time she was able to wave him off with a genuine smile, and enjoy her day out shopping with Bonnie and Caroline.

And they did have a great time together. Bonnie was coming out of her shell more and more, as Caroline prodded and persisted in her usual Caroline way. Elena picked out a beautiful deep red dress for Bonnie to wear on her date, and Caroline busied herself finding matching accessories and make up. Before they knew it, it was time to go home, so that Elena wouldn't be late for her first shift back at work since New Year.

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><p>As she pulled into the parking lot, her eyes were instantly drawn to the sleek dark grey Mercedes parked outside Damon's apartment. <em>Guess she is staying<em>, she thought to herself. She couldn't really blame him for letting her back in. After all, here was his chance to spend time with the daughter he thought he'd lost. Even if she wasn't _actually_ his child, the bond between them was still there. He had spent three months believing that she was his, loving her as though she was his. It would be hard for him to resist the chance of being able to get that back. Elena understood this feeling all too well. A few months after her parents had died, she had found out that she had been adopted. She was hurt that they hadn't told her, but she would still give everything she owned to have them back again.

Sighing, she got out of the car, and headed into the restaurant to help set up for the evening shift. Although the week away hadn't made her feelings for Damon become any less, she had managed to gain some perspective. He was with Katherine now, he had a family, and she just had to learn to deal with that and move on.

When she got into the kitchen, she found an irate chef shouting at Becky. "I can't make the coulis without the fresh raspberries!" He smacked a bowl off the counter, kicking at it as it clanged onto the floor.

"I've called Andy, he's on his way back with them, he should be here any minute." Becky rubbed soothing circles on Trevor's back, rolling her eyes in Elena's direction at the temperamental chef's outburst.

"I'll go and see if he's coming," Elena said, backing out through the kitchen door, nodding as Becky mouthed a 'thank you' at her. She walked out into the courtyard just as Andy the fresh vegetables delivery guy jumped out of his van.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Elena, I just forgot them, I wasn't thinking!" Andy gabbled at her, his face bright red from embarrassment, shoving the container of raspberries into her arms.

"Andy it's okay, you're here now," Elena rubbed his arm, trying to calm him. He was such a sweetie.

"Will you tell Damon I'm sorry?" Andy continued to ramble, obviously worried he would lose his contract with the restaurant.

"Damon doesn't even know," Elena said soothingly. "Why don't we keep it that way, okay?" She winked at him, and Andy smiled.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a blood curdling scream came from the direction of the antiques store. Both Elena and Andy rushed over to the door, to find Katherine holding Millie high up in her arms.

Andy's dog Daisy danced around by her feet, obviously thinking the whole thing was a game and trying to play.

"Argh!" Katherine screamed again, kicking out at the dog with her leather booted foot. "Get away, you horrible thing!" She screamed at Daisy, just as Damon came sprinting out from the back of the shop.

"What happened?" Damon asked, looking from Elena to Millie, quickly reaching out his hand to check if the baby was okay. "What's going on?"

Andy grabbed Daisy's collar, pulling her back. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! She must have got out the van while I was delivering the raspberries..."

Elena tried to calm the situation down, to help out Andy, who looked as though he was about to have a heart attack. "It's okay, nobody was hurt, why don't we all just-"

"Nobody was hurt? That's hardly the point, is it?" Katherine interrupted her shrilly. "I put my daughter down for a minute, and that, that _beast _comes slobbering all over her!"

"Millie was on the ground?" Damon frowned. "Katherine, cars drive in here all the time! What were you thinking?"

"Oh, so it's all my fault, is it? I put my daughter down for two seconds – _two seconds_ – and when I turned back she had crawled off! You know how quickly she can move when she wants too."

Damon nodded. "But not quickly enough to get out of the way of any cars."

Katherine's voice turned shriller still. "I was listening out for cars! My God, do you think I want my baby to get hurt? If I'd heard an engine, I'd have been right there! But to let a dog on the loose is just... irresponsible." She gave Andy a glare, making him back further away from the group by the door.

Damon sighed. "Look, let's just calm down, nothing happened, and Millie's fine."

"Nothing _happened_? God she reeks! Smell her," Katherine ordered. "That disgusting dog slobbered all over my baby – and it's not even a pedigree!"

Elena tried again, feeling the need to come to Andy's defence. "Katherine, Daisy's the sweetest, gentlest dog you could ever meet. I promise you, she wouldn't ever hurt anyone. Millie would never come to any harm with her." Her tone was placating, meant to make Katherine feel better, but Katherine was beside herself and beyond reassurance.

"No harm? Are you serious? A stinking filthy dog crawling with germs licks my daughter's face, and you think that's _safe_?" Katherine's eyes widened in distaste. "My God, and I thought you seemed like such a responsible person! If that's how you feel I won't be asking you to babysit for us again."

Elena had had enough by this point. "Excellent," she said coldly, giving the woman in front of her a glare. "Because I wouldn't do it anyway." She turned and walked back to the restaurant, the container of raspberries still in her hands. _Oh and by the way, Damon deserves _so_ much better than you._

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><p><em><em>A/N: So there we are - katherine just keeps getting better and better, doesn't she? ;) We're coming up on the home stretch now, another 3/4 chapters, plus a short epilogue. Oh, and Daisy, I'm sorry I used your name for a dog, but it's actually the name of my next door neighbour's dog, so I used that! :)


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry this took so long to come up, I was busy trying to write a oneshot for the author to author exchange, and I've had another idea for a story that just won't leave me alone, so I found it hard to concentrate on writing this chapter. I think there's only another couple of chapters to go with this story - maybe three, depending on how many words flow out when I start writing! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I can't believe I've got so many! You are all seriously so awesome!

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><p>"Ooh, here he comes now. Wish me luck!" Becky smoothed out her skirt and lifted her chin confidently.<p>

"Wish you luck? For what?" Elena was confused. The lunch shift had just finished, and she was about to get changed and head home for the evening.

"I'm going to find out about Katherine," Becky looked back over her shoulder, an incredulous look on her face. "I told you the other week, I want to know what's going on, but I haven't had a chance to corner him yet." Her eyes sparkled at the possibility of gossip. "Here's my chance, and I'm going to take it."

Elena reached out her arm to hold her back, but Becky moved too quickly for her, marching straight up to Damon as he walked through the front door.

"Damon, what's going on?"

"Me? I've spent the morning selling antiques."

"Don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about."

Elena, busy giving herself something to do by polishing the glasses behind the bar, watched the flicker of annoyance cross his handsome face.

"It's none of your business what's going on."

"But are you _crazy_? Katherine completely messed up your life last year and now she's back. Does that mean you're going to let her do it all over again?"

Damon, clearly not in the sunniest of moods today, squared up to Becky. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm an adult perfectly capable of making my own decisions."

"And trust me, you're making a bad one." Becky shot back.

Damon sighed. "Ok, just listen to me. Say you had a daughter, and someone came along and took her away from you? Told you that you would never see her again? Would you have handed your daughter over and forgotten her? Stopped loving her? Simply put her out of your mind because that was it, she was no longer a part of your life?"

"No," Becky said, her voice going soft. "But Millie isn't your daughter."

"I thought she was," Damon's voice was even. "She could have been mine. Plenty of men bring up other people's children and love them as if they were their own."

"So that's what you're going to do, is it? Never mind that Katherine cheated on you and brazenly passed Millie off as yours, then skipped off with your _brother_ without even telling you she was going. You've just forgiven her for that, have you? You're letting her get away with it? Well, how very _handy_ for her!" Becky's voice was getting higher and higher as she spoke.

Elena felt sick but she couldn't stop listening, couldn't even escape to the safety of her car because Damon was blocking the door. He was really pissed off now, a muscle going in his jaw as he gripped the host station and glared at Becky. In fact, now might not be the time to be thinking it, but he had never looked so sexy...

"Don't tell me how to live my life."

"Why not?" Becky retorted. "Someone has to try and knock some sense into you. And God knows, everybody else can see that what you're doing is wrong." Gesturing towards Elena, she said, "Can't we?"

Elena's eyes widened in horror. Averting her eyes, she mumbled, "I don't want to get involved."

"But you _should_," Becky was adamant, her eyes shining brightly with conviction. "We all work together, don't we? We're all friends! For God's sake, if I was dating someone who wanted me to give them all my money to pay off their gambling debts, would you two stand back and just let me do it?"

"Right now? Absolutely." Damon said coldly.

"And now you're angry with me," Becky calmed her voice down into soothing tones. "And you shouldn't be, because we're only saying all this because we care about you."

_Less of the we_, Elena thought in alarm.

"And I know you love Millie," Becky went on. "But I don't believe you still love Katherine. And that's no basis for a relationship. Okay, Katherine's a pretty girl. She's sexy, I appreciate that. But if it's sex you're after, there are plenty of women around here who would be only too happy to hop into bed with you." Her arms gestured around the room behind her, in which only Elena was standing, and she felt her cheeks grow hot as Damon's eyes flicked over to her. "I promise you, Damon, all you'd have to do is click your fingers, and they'd be queuing up for a quick – arghh!"

"Oooh," Appearing at the restaurant door with Millie in her arms, Katherine leaned against the doorway, a smirk pulling up her lips. "All of a sudden there's an awkward silence. You wouldn't be talking about me, would you?" Her gaze settled on Elena, and her cheeks flushed again, even though she hadn't said anything.

Damon, sensing her discomfort – or possibly feeling as though he was being burned alive, on account of the heat emanating from Elena's face – turned to Katherine. "We were talking about work. Did you want something?"

"We just came in to say goodbye."

This pronouncement caused Elena's hopes to sky rocket, at the same time as Becky made a weird squeaky choking sound.

"We're off into town to buy Millie some new clothes and have a play on the park. Back in a while okay?" She leaned Millie closer to Damon. "Say bye bye."

Millie stretched out her hand and grabbed at Damon's shoulder. He softened, smiling slightly as he stroked her silky hair.

"Look at them." Revelling in the sight of the two of them together, Katherine said with pride, "Look at her face. She's crazy about him!"

Elena swallowed her disappointment and thought, _me too._

* * *

><p>Elena managed to keep out of both Damon and Katherine's way for the rest of the week, for which she was extremely grateful. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get the image of the three of them out of her mind, and a part of her wanted to scream out at just how wrong it looked. She knew it was just the jealousy talking, but she couldn't help it. There was just something... off about the whole set up. She did her best to stop thinking about it though; they were together, and there wasn't a thing anybody could do about it.<p>

She was in the middle of her Tuesday lunch shift when she suddenly felt a tingle up her spine. She set down the steaming bowls of pasta in front of the customers and turned slowly, knowing she would find Damon standing behind her. What she didn't expect was the expression on his face. It was... sympathetic, and more than a little worried. Darts of panic started shooting through her veins as she stared at him, as though she was trying to find out what was going on just by looking at him.

"Elena," he said softly, and put his hand on her shoulder. "We need to talk for a minute. Could you come with me?"

Not even the jolts of electricity shooting down from his touch could quell the anxiety bubbling up within her. Not trusting her voice, she nodded shakily.

He took her by the elbow and walked her through to the staff room, leading her over to the table, where he pulled out a chair for her. "Will you sit down? There's something I need to tell you."

"No." Elena's voice came out stronger than she thought, surprising herself. She cleared her throat and continued. "Just... whatever it is you have to say, just tell me. Please, Damon."

Her words were pleading with him to tell her the truth, but her eyes were sending out very different signals, pleading with him to make it all go away, even though she didn't know yet what had happened. Damon swallowed thickly, then nodded.

"I just got a call from Sheriff Forbes," he started, looking in her chocolate brown eyes, seeing the tears building. He guessed this wasn't the first time bad news had followed a sentence like this. "Caroline had told her you worked here, and she couldn't get a hold of you on your cell. She got a call from California – _Elena!_"

The moment she heard the name California, she knew. That was where Jeremy was studying. Something had happened to her brother. The room around her tilted as darkness fell upon her.

"Elena!" Damon shot his arms out and caught her as she fainted. With one arm around her back, he scooped his other under her knees and carried her over to the staff couch, laying her down gently. He knelt down next to her, stroking her hair back from her face and holding her hand, rubbing soothing circles on her skin with his thumb. As he gently caressed her face, she moaned softly, her eyelids fluttering.

"Elena?"

"What happened?" She mumbled through pale lips.

"You fainted."

"No. What happened to Jeremy?" Her words were whispered, her eyes clenched tightly shut, braced for the worst news possible.

"There was..." Damon didn't want to say it; he knew how her parents had died. "There was a car accident... Elena-"

"Is he dead?" A single tear slid out from behind her tightly closed lashes.

"No, but he is in the hospital."

Her eyes opened at this, and she looked at him. "Is he going to be okay?" She asked him, almost disbelievingly.

"Yes. He might have to stay in for a while, but he's going to be –"

The rest of his sentence was smothered by her hair as she launched herself into his arms, sobbing her relief. He held onto her, stroking her back and rocking her slightly, her tears soaking through his shirt.

Eventually she calmed down and started to ease back. He let her go reluctantly; the feel of holding her in his arms just felt so right, even at a time like this.

"I need to get going, I need to go see him," she said, sitting up straight and running her fingers under her eyes to dry her face.

"I'll drive you." Damon stood up, and felt in his pocket for his keys.

"It's okay, my car's here, and I need to go home and pack some things before I go to the airport." She stood up, taking a shaky breath.

"You shouldn't be driving right now, besides, you'll have to leave your car at the airport if you go there by yourself. Your car will be safe here until you get back."

She bit her lower lip slightly, then nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

Damon stood looking at her for a moment, before stepping back slightly. "I'll uh, wait for you outside."

He walked back out into the restaurant, scanning the large room for Becky. Finding her over by the cash register, he walked over to her, and filled her in on the situation. Just as he finished, Elena came out of the back room and joined them.

Becky pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair. Elena hugged her back briefly. "I'm sorry to have to run out on you in the middle of a shift."

"Shut up." Becky said, rolling her eyes. "You just go to your brother. Take as much time as you need. You're one of our favourite waitresses, we'll still be here when you get back."

Elena gave her friend a watery smile, then turned to Damon, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm ready to go."

Damon nodded and walked her to his car, holding the door open for her as she slid into the cool leather seat. The drive to her house was silent, as Elena tried to control the range of emotions swirling around inside her. She was angry at herself for not being there to protect Jeremy when he needed her to the most. She was terrified as the night her parents had died kept flashing in front of her eyes. She was also feeling waves of lust as the back of Damon's hand occasionally brushed her knee as he changed gear. And then she was feeling guilt for even thinking of such a thing when Jeremy needed her.

They got to the house and Elena rushed inside and up the stairs, leaving Damon to wait for her in the hallway. She quickly grabbed a bag and stuffed some clothes in it. She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a pile of cosmetics, throwing them in on top of the clothes. She rummaged around in the top drawer of her dresser, looking for her identification, before shoving it in a side pocket. She grabbed the bag and headed downstairs, seeing Damon standing by the hall table.

Smiling slightly at her, he placed his cell back in his pocket. "I booked you a flight. You should make it if we leave now."

Elena nodded, embarrassed that she hadn't thought any further than actually getting to the airport. "Thanks. I'll pay you back."

"Not necessary."

Elena nodded again. She knew she would, she didn't like being indebted to people. "I'll just leave a quick note for Bonnie."

"I'll wait for you in the car."

* * *

><p>Elena settled back in her seat on the plane, waiting for take-off. She'd never been in first class before. She might have to rethink paying Damon back. She wasn't sure the money from her job would cover such extravagance.<p>

Her cell phone sprang to life in her pocket, and she pulled it out, praying that it wasn't anything to do with Jeremy. Had he gotten worse?

"Elena? Elena, honey, I am so sorry!" Caroline's voice gabbled down the line to her. "I'm visiting my Dad, otherwise you know I would have been there, right?"

"It's okay, Caroline, I'm fine. I'm on the plane now. We're going to take-off soon."

Caroline let out a sigh. "What about your car? Do you need me to drive it home for you?"

"It's still at the restaurant. Damon drove me here."

"He did? Wow, that was nice of him."

"Mm-hmm," Elena was trying not to think about the excruciating car journey. The air had been thick with suppressed lust, awkward silences and miss-timed glances. She had barely managed to stop herself from reaching out and touching him as he had pulled up outside the terminal, and she had declined his offer of accompanying her inside, not wanting yet more awkwardness between them as they said goodbye. She had practically fled from the car, forcing herself not to look back until after she had heard him drive away.

"I'm coming home. I'm going to pack a bag, and then I'll come meet you in California, okay?"

Caroline's voice brought Elena out of her memories, and she smiled slightly. "Care, you don't have to do that-"

"Of course I do, you're my friend and you need me."

Her voice was a little too bright, and Elena's smile grew. "And this has nothing to do with the fact I'm headed to where all the surfers hang out?"

"We-ell,"

Elena let out a laugh. "Okay. I'll let you know where I'm staying when I get there. And thanks. I could do with the company."

"What are friends for?"

* * *

><p>Bonnie was feeling very nervous. She had dutifully dressed up in the dress and accessories Caroline and Elena had picked out for her, but now that her date was finally here, she was beginning to regret her decision of saying yes. She sat in a booth at The Grill, nervously playing with the cutlery in front of her, waiting for her date to come back with their drinks. He had been gone for a while, so she lifted her head to seek him out. She saw his dark head next to the crowded bar. Friday nights were always packed, and she realised it was just taking him some time to get served. Watching, she noticed that the girl handing out drinks seemed to keep missing him.<p>

Her eyes flicked around the room, coming to rest on one of the pool tables. Her heart jumped as she found herself looking into deep blue eyes.

Matt smiled at her from across the room, before taking the winning shot and clapping his friend on the back. He put the cue down and walked over to her, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"Hi," she said, smiling shyly.

"Hey yourself," Matt looked around the bar. "Is Elena home already? I thought she was going to be at least a couple of weeks with Jeremy."

"No, Elena's still in California. Caroline too."

"Oh." Matt's eyes settled back on her. "I just... I don't think I've ever seen you out on your own before."

"I'm not. I'm on a date." Bonnie ducked her head in embarrassment.

Matt felt a dart of emotion shoot through him. He thought it felt a bit like jealousy. Now that she mentioned it, he could tell that she was dressed up. Looking at her now, she actually was extremely pretty, Matt thought. He took in the deep red dress that brought out the tone of her copper coloured skin, along with the matching lipstick and drop earrings. Glancing down, he saw the tip of a shiny black high heeled shoe, and a tantalising inch of bare leg. He shook his head slightly. This was Elena's roommate, her friend. What was he doing thinking these things about her?

"Where's your date? Maybe I should tell him how rude it is to leave a beautiful girl on her own." Wait, was he _flirting_ with her?

Bonnie blushed slightly. He's at the bar, getting us drinks. She gestured over his shoulder, and Matt turned, only to find out who she was pointing at. His heart sank for her. Obviously, she hadn't mentioned the name of her date to either Elena or Caroline.

He turned back to her, watching her smile falter at the expression on his face.

"What? What's wrong?"

Matt grimaced slightly. "Did Elena ever tell you what happened to Caroline and her last ex-boyfriend?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah. She told me Caroline found him-" She cut herself off, horror flooding her eyes. "That's him, isn't it?"

Matt gave her a small, sympathetic smile. "Yup. That's Tyler Lockwood."

Bonnie slumped back in her seat, disappointment crashing over her. "I knew it was too good to be true," she mumbled to herself, and when she looked up again, Matt was horrified to see tears gathering in her big dark eyes.

He took a quick look back to make sure that Tyler was still trying to get Vicki's attention, then stood up and held out his hand.

"Come on."

Bonnie stared at his hand, before looking up at him. "Where?" Maybe he was going to drive her home.

"You got all dressed up for a date. So I'm going to take you on one."

Bonnie smiled and grabbed his hand.

By the time Tyler finally got back to the booth with their drinks, he found a group of girls sitting there, but no Bonnie.

"Excuse me, do you know what happened to the girl who was sitting here before you?" He asked them.

One of the girls looked up at him and smiled. "She got lucky."

"Yep," her friend next to her chimed in. "Some guy with blond hair and the bluest eyes I have ever seen came up to her and she left with him."

Tyler looked down at the drinks in his hand. He couldn't believe he'd just been dumped. He glanced back to the bar, where he saw Vicki smirk at him as she winked slyly.

Bonnie opened the door to the Gilbert house, giggling as she tripped in her high heels. She held the door open for Matt, who walked in after her and headed to the kitchen.

"Coffee. We need coffee." Matt started the machine and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard.

Bonnie stood next to him, leaning against the counter as she watched him make their drinks.

"Thanks, Matt. I had a really nice time tonight."

"Good. That was what I was aiming for." He handed her one of the mugs, and their fingertips touched. They both stopped, looking at each other. Then, leaning down, he kissed her lightly on the lips. She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

* * *

><p>Damon looked out at the Gilbert house as he pulled up outside. Elena had been gone for two weeks, while she helped Jeremy get back on his feet after his accident. She had been back for three days, and she was due back at work the day after tomorrow, but he needed to <em>see<em> her. He had hoped he'd be able to talk to her when Caroline drove her to collect her car, but it was still sitting there in the parking lot.

He walked up the steps to the porch and knocked on the door, rubbing his suddenly sweaty hands on his dark jeans. _She wouldn't think it was weird, would she? Him turning up on her door step like this?_

The door opened, and he recognised Elena's robe that she had been wearing on Christmas day. As his gaze travelled upwards, however, he saw a very flat, broad chest sticking out from under the pink fabric.

"Hey, man, how you doing?" Matt asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

"Uh, I was just driving past, and thought I'd stop by and ask Elena how Jeremy was doing." Damon looked behind Matt, trying to see if anyone else was in. "Is she here?" _Please say no, _he thought.

"Yeah, she's in the shower. We're going out to dinner."

_We?_ Hoping he'd misunderstood, Damon said casually, "With that girl you brought to the restaurant that time?"

"Who? Oh, no, that's long over. No, my party-girl phase is over. I've seen the error of my ways." Matt grinned proudly.

"Oh." Elena was upstairs having a shower and the ex-boyfriend she'd always remained friendly with was wearing her pink dressing gown and announcing that he'd seen the error of his ways. Fuck it, what was there to misunderstand? Swallowing his disappointment and marvelling that he could sound so normal, Damon said, "Elena didn't mention any of this."

"Well, it all started while she was away visiting Jer. We talked on the phone a few times. She wasn't sure at first, but when she got back, I was able to convince her otherwise." Matt paused, his eyes sparkling. "This time it's the real thing, I know it."

"Right." Damon needed to get out of here. "That's great," He lied. "I'm pleased for... both of you."

And then he left, before he could rip Matt's undeserving head from off his shoulders.

* * *

><p>Elena stepped out of her bedroom, running into Matt as he came up the stairs. She smiled at him. "You look very handsome," she straightened out his tie and smoothed down his collar.<p>

"Bonnie said blue looks good on me."

"Bonnie said this, Bonnie said that," Elena teased, because he was at that stage where he liked to include her name in every conversation. "Who was that at the door earlier?"

"Hmm? Oh, just Damon. He said he was driving by, thought he'd find out how Jer was. Are you ready? Bonnie's in the kitchen, waiting."

"Are you sure I won't feel like a third wheel?"

"Of course you won't. We'll have a great time."

"No touchy stuff at the table then. You have to promise."

"My hands shall remain above the table at all times," he waggled them to illustrate. "However, I can't make any promises about other body parts."

Elena rolled her eyes as she walked down the stairs. Matt was in love, and it wasn't his fault she was jealous. She _would_ enjoy the evening once they got out there; it was just the mention of Damon that had thrown her a bit. Sitting at a table for three was fine in it's own way, but if her life could have been different, how much more wonderful it would be to have someone of her own and be part of a double date.

* * *

><p>AN: I know, I know, I'm horrible! This is the last misunderstanding between them though, I promise! It'll all get sorted out soon! As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Okay, I know a few of you were quite upset with the last chapter, but I think that means I might be doing something right, because you are meant to be as frustrated as hell with DE right now - I know I am! LOL So, I'm putting up this chapter a bit quicker than normal, and then after this there is one more chapter, plus a short epilogue, both of which are already written, and which I shall upload tomorrow, so I don't make you wait too long. I hope that makes you all feel a little happier with me? ;) I've really enjoyed writing this, and I will definitely give another story like this a go in the near future, and I hope you'll want to come along with that one with me too! So anyway, chapter 12 -

* * *

><p>Elena fidgeted more in her seat the closer the car got to the restaurant. Her mind was torn in two completely different directions. Half of her couldn't wait to get to work, just so she could see him again, but the other half wanted to run screaming away, just in case Katherine was there too. She hated feeling like this. She really just wanted this stupid crush on her boss to go away.<p>

"Did you drink too much coffee this morning?" Matt looked over at her in the passenger seat, before flicking his gaze back to the road. "You're all... restless today."

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm just, ready to get back to work, I guess."

"Are you sure? Because you look like you're worried about something." He pulled into the parking lot, then leaned over and traced her frown line between her eyebrows with his finger. "You know I'm here for you, right? If you ever need to talk?"

Elena smiled at him. "I know. I'm fine though, really. Thanks for the lift." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before stepping out of the car.

She watched him drive away, feeling eyes on her back. When she turned around, she saw Damon standing by the antique shop, talking to a customer. She averted her eyes quickly, and went off to work the lunch shift.

After work, Elena decided to go to the mall to do some shopping. She felt like cheering herself up, and a look through all the shops there would be just the thing to do it. She parked her car and pulled out her phone, wondering if Caroline would like to join her. Her friend's cell went straight to voicemail though. Elena shrugged. At least this way Caroline couldn't force her into buying something she knew she'd never wear. That happened a lot on their shopping trips.

Elena browsed through the shops slowly, finding a cute pair of black skinny jeans and a silky ice blue camisole top. The colour reminded her of Damon's eyes, and she found herself drifting off to the food court, her mind replaying their one and only night together. She went straight to the Chinese counter, to order her favourite shrimp and noodles, but as she approached it, the smell of sesame oil teased at her nostrils, and she felt a wave of nausea roll over her. She backed away quickly, sitting down at the nearest table as she fought back the sudden dizziness. Great. Now her stupid crush was starting to affect her appetite. She slumped down over the table, leaning her head on her arms and breathing through her mouth, as the sick feeling slowly faded. Why wasn't it going away? It had been _six weeks_ for God's sake! Six weeks since they had made love, six weeks since she had crept out of his bedroom in the early hours of the morning. Six weeks since Katherine had shown up and ensconced herself firmly back in Damon's life. Six weeks since...

Elena sat up quickly, the food court spinning in front of her eyes, but she was too shocked to care. _Six weeks?_ That can't be right. Elena hurriedly counted back on her fingers, just to make sure. She stared down at her fingers. Yup. Six weeks. _Oh. My. God._

Somehow, on autopilot, Elena managed to make herself stand up from the table, her legs threatening to give way beneath her. Okay, collapsing in a heap would just waste time and be an embarrassment. Steeling herself, she headed in the direction of the nearest chemist.

Two minutes later, she emerged and hurried away, checking left and right as she stuffed the small box into her shoulder bag, making sure there was nobody around that she knew who might suddenly demand to know what she'd bought.

The public bathrooms weren't ideal, but going home wasn't an option; that would take at least half an hour, and she needed to know _now._

Locking herself in the far cubicle, Elena trembled as she carefully unwrapped the package and read the instructions three times over. She did what they told her to do, then closed her eyes, waiting for the chemicals to do their thing. Outside the cubicle, she could hear a mother struggling with a baby in a pushchair and simultaneously trying to persuade her young daughter to wash her hands.

"Come on, Megan, be a good girl, don't splash."

"It's water!"

"I know, honey, but Aiden doesn't like it. Just keep the water away from him."

Time was up. Slowly, Elena opened one eye and peeked at the stick thing.

Oh God.

Oh _God._

Outside, a scuffle ensued, accompanied by the sound of vigorous splashing and the outraged wails of a small baby. Elena gazed blankly at the white door of her cubicle and heard Megan giggling in triumph, her mission accomplished. The baby, evidently drenched, emitted ear-splitting howls of protest.

Megan's mother sighed with resignation. "Oh, you silly girl, look what you've done now. _That's_ not very clever, is it?"

_You're telling me,_ thought Elena.

* * *

><p>Caroline bounced through the door as Elena opened it for her. She had called her friend the moment she had got home, desperately needing someone to talk to.<p>

"I have had just the best day!" Caroline was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "I got four new clients for the design business, and one of them is a huge job! Come on, we have to celebrate!" She grabbed Elena by the hand and pulled her into the kitchen, immediately opening the fridge door. "Where's the wine?"

"I haven't got any." While waiting for her friend to show up, Elena had dumped all the alcohol she could find down the sink. Removing the temptation and all that.

"No wine at all? That's terrible! What's the matter with you?" Caroline stared into the fridge in disbelief, as though she could make a bottle materialise if she just looked hard enough.

She stood up. "Never mind, I've got some." Slamming the fridge door, she said, "I'll run home, bring back a couple of bottles and we'll have a big girly catching-up session. You can tell me what's been going on with you since we got back from Jeremy's."

* * *

><p>"You're kidding."<p>

"Nope."

"Oh my _God._"

"I know."

Caroline was so stunned she almost slopped red wine over her pale pink skirt. "What are you going to _do_?"

Elena blew out a breath and laid her head on the kitchen counter. "I don't know." She closed her eyes, willing for it all to be not happening.

"Maybe subconsciously you did it on purpose?"

Elena snorted. "I did_ not_ do it on purpose! And we were careful." Elena sighed in frustration; she had been over that night in her mind a thousand times already, it was practically burned into the back of her skull. "We used something, okay? The fucking thing just didn't fucking work."

Caroline's eyes widened at that. Elena hardly ever swore. Needing to ask the question though, she forged ahead. "So, are you going to go through with it?"

Elena sighed. "I can't get rid of it."

"You'll have to tell Damon."

Elena sat up straight and her eyes flew open. "I definitely can't do that!"

"Look, I know men are stupid. But at some point, he is going to notice."

"Not if I leave the restaurant." Was it the pint of orange juice she had just consumed, or the thought of Damon finding out she was pregnant that was making her feel sick? Elena took deep breaths.

"But he has a right to know!"

"As far as Damon's concerned, it was a one-night stand that meant nothing. God," Elena's face reddened at the memory. "He was practically doing me a favour. He's got Millie and Katherine now. This is the last thing he needs." Realising that Caroline was gazing at her with an odd look on her face, she said defensively, "What are you thinking?"

"You've got a baby in there!" Dreamily, Caroline pointed at her stomach. "An actual real baby! When it's born I'll be able to hold it as much as I want. And play with it, and talk to it and... and everything!"

"Ye-es."

"But don't you see how fantastic that is?" Grinning widely, Caroline said, "Now I get to be cool Auntie Caroline! I can't wait!"

She watched Caroline knocking back her fourth glass of wine, and rolled her eyes. "So glad I could help," she said drily.

* * *

><p>A week later, Caroline sat in the chair at her favourite hair salon, sipping ice cold champagne as she watched the hair stylist work his magic. She wished she could have forced Elena to come with her; she was certain that this would be just what her friend needed to cheer her up. But Elena had cried off, claiming to be too tired to be out all morning, when she had a lunch shift to work later.<p>

Caroline loved coming to this little salon, and Lawrence the hair stylist was a stylist, therapist and counsellor all rolled into one. You could tell him anything and he wouldn't be shocked. He loved to talk but never gossiped. Once upon a time he had been married with children; now, in his early fifties, he was gay and happily living with a construction worker called Bob. Lawrence was funny and wise, _and_ he served champagne. What more could you want from any man than that?

"you're better off without him, darling," he said now. "Men like that? Professional heartbreakers, take it from me. And what if you'd married him and had children, what kind of father would he have been?"

"I know that now. I just really thought we were headed in that direction. It never occurred to me that he might not want that too." Caroline took another sip of champagne.

"Lots of men don't ever want a family. After our first two, Sarah wanted a third and I wasn't too keen." Wagging his scissors at Caroline in the mirror, Lawrence shook his head and said ruefully, "I tell you, never argue with a woman whose hormones are raging, because you'll never win."

Caroline knew he had three children, all grown up now, to whom he was extremely close. "So how did she get you to change your mind?"

"She didn't. She came off the pill without telling me. Oh darling, bless you for looking so shocked!" Lawrence chuckled and squeezed her shoulders.

"But how did she know you wouldn't leave her?"

"I loved my kids. Sarah knew that once I was used to the idea I'd be fine. And of course she was right. Anyone ready for a top-up?" Lawrence added another inch to Caroline's champagne glass and refilled the one in front of the girl having her lowlights baked under the heat lamp.

Entertained, the girl said, "So it all worked out in the end?"

"Ask me what I'm doing tonight," said Lawrence.

She glanced over at Caroline in amusement. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Babysitting two of my grandchildren. The ones belonging to my youngest daughter." His face suffused with pride, Lawrence said, "I have the best family in the world and I couldn't imagine life without them."

"I'm glad it worked out for you. I can't believe your wife did that, though." Caroline shook her head in amazement.

"Such a novice," Lawrence patted her shoulder fondly. "Subterfuge. Remember, you're the woman, you call the shots."

"Unless it's condoms," Caroline pulled a face. "Not much you can do about them."

"Yes there is." The other girl winked. "That's easy. You just have to be discreet."

Caroline snorted into her glass. This was why she loved coming here. "Come on! You mean slip it off half way through and hope he won't notice?"

"When I wanted another baby my fiancé said it was too soon. Same as you did." The girl pointed at Lawrence. "But my hormones were all over the place and I _knew_ I wanted another baby. So I took this really fine needle and stuck it through every condom in the box." She grinned. "All twenty four of them."

Caroline clapped her hands in delight. "And he couldn't tell?"

"I didn't use a knitting needle. Just a really tiny one from a hotel sewing kit. And then you smooth over the hole with your finger so it's hardly visible." Warming to her story, the girl said, "Trust me, by the time you've got a man reaching for a condom he's not going to be stopping to examine it under a microscope."

"Did it work?" Caroline was enthralled.

The girl waved her hand and said airily, "Well, things changed. You know how it is. But hey, it could have worked."

"Right, that's you done." Lawrence finished cutting and laid down his scissors with a flourish. "Now just give me ten minutes to deal with these lowlights, and I'll be back to do the blow dry. There's a piece in here you'll love." He handed her a glossy magazine. Unlike most hair stylists who just dumped a pile of magazines in your lap, Lawrence went through them himself, scouring them and singling out the articles he knew his clients would love.

Caroline settled down in her seat and got ready to spend a pleasant few minutes immersed in celebrity gossip.

"Oh, _hi_, so you got my text! How have you been?" The girl's tone was flirtatious; she obviously wasn't speaking to her mother. Caroline attempted to block her out to concentrate on the magazine.

"Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? Everything's great, I just thought we could meet up, seeing as I'll be in Atlanta for the weekend anyway."

This was definitely someone she was keen on. Caroline carried on reading, biting her lip in concentration. It was hard trying not to listen in to other people's phone conversations.

"Absolutely. It's a date." The girl was triumphant. "I knew you'd want to. Now, shall I bring Millie? Ha, thought not! No, no problem, I'll leave her here. God knows, I deserve a couple of days off. What would you like me to wear?" She paused then giggled with laughter at his reply. "Why am I not surprised to hear you say that?"

Caroline frowned. She had been trying her hardest to concentrate on the magazine article but a part of her brain hadn't been able to help semi-listening to the one-sided phone conversation going on next to her.

Had the girl just said Millie? And if she had, why did the name ring a faint but somehow significant bell?

Millie, Millie...

Caroline froze, placing it at last.

Jesus. _Millie._

* * *

><p>Elena was just pulling into the parking lot of Salvatore's when her phone rang. Parking the car quickly, she glanced at the screen. Caroline.<p>

"Hey, I've only got time for a quick one."

"That's what got you into trouble in the first place."

"I'm late for work!" Elena's face flushed bright red.

"Never mind that," Caroline sounded gleeful. "I've just found out a couple of things you might like to hear."

"What kind of things?" Hurriedly, Elena jumped out of the car.

"Okay, number one. I think I know how you got pregnant."

"Caroline, I was there when we did biology at school, I _know_ how it happened."

"Will you listen to me? Katherine was desperate for another baby straight after she had Millie. I'm guessing it was because she wasn't sure that Millie was Damon's and wanted one that definitely was."

"What? _What?_" Utterly confused, Elena stopped racing across the gravel of the courtyard.

"But Damon _didn't _want another one, which was a bit of a pain," Caroline machine-gunned on. "So, Katherine sabotaged his condom supply, punctured every last one of them. Except then the whole thing with Stefan started up again and she left. But she forgot to tell Damon what she had done."

Elena frowned as the restaurant door opened. "Caroline, is this what happened _in a dream?_"

"No! It's real! And she's gone shopping this afternoon so the coast's clear if you want to check it out. Apparently she has an implant now, so the condoms should still be wherever he keeps them."

Damon was standing in the doorway with Millie in one arm and a handful of folders in the other, looking at her.

_I know where he keeps them._

"But 'Lena, that's not all, you'll never guess what else I –"

"I have to go," Elena muttered into the phone.

"No! You can't! Wait until you –"

"Get the sack?" Aware that Damon was holding the door open for her, Elena said hastily, "I'll call you later," and cut Caroline of mid-squeak.

"Are you okay?" Damon touched her arm as she rushed past him.

Oh God, why did he have to touch her? "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine." Giving him a brief smile, she almost fled into the restaurant.

Fucking hell, was that how it had happened? _Really_?

* * *

><p>It was no good, she knew where he kept them and she had to find out if Caroline was right. Lunch in the restaurant had gone on for what felt like weeks. As the crowded room finally started to clear, Elena lurked outside the entrance to the antiques centre peering – without <em>appearing<em> to peer – through the crack in the door until she saw Damon occupied with some customers.

He paused and looked up when she rushed in.

"Sorry, I was just wondering if I could give Allie and the kittens some leftovers. I didn't realise you were busy... doesn't matter..."

"You could just leave it by the front door," said Damon. "I'll take it up later."

_Noooooo._ Frustrated, Elena gripped the box of fish trimmings she had stolen from the kitchen. Damnit, she needed to get up there _now._

"Or," Damon said as an afterthought, "you can take them up yourself if you wanted to see them."

_Yesssssss. _ Beaming with relief, Elena said, "Thanks. I'll do that. Just for five minutes."

But first things first. Once inside the apartment, she turned along the hallway and made directly for the master bedroom.

Oh God, this was insane. The outcome was the same, whether or not Katherine had sabotaged the condoms. But the compulsion to know the truth had her in its grip. Elena headed for the chest of drawers on Damon's side of the bed and slid open the top drawer. There was the box, right at the back, lying on its side with some of the packets spilling out amidst a jumble of old belts, books of matches, pens, swimming goggles and sunglasses. Scooping up a handful of packets she realised it was too dark here in the bedroom to examine them properly. She couldn't risk turning on the light, the room overlooked the courtyard, where anyone could see it. Closing the drawer she hurried through to the living room, ignoring the excited squeaks of the kittens. She stood over by the big window and held the first one up to the light, her hands trembling as she ran the tips of her fingers over the plastic coated foil. Ugh, her heart was racing so hard it was impossible to –"

"Argh!" Elena let out a shriek as without warning something heavy landed on her shoulder. The condom packet flew out of her hands and Elena spun around in alarm. Damn cat! Disentangling Allie from her white shirt, she dumped the cat on the floor and bent to retrieve the dropped condom.

Jesus, what were the odds? Elena gazed down in dismay at the packet, clearly visible but unreachable, in a deep gap between the polished oak floorboards. You could fling five hundred of the damned things up in the air and not one of them would fall into one of the gaps between floorboards. And she couldn't leave it there; that would be just too weird.

Stuffing the rest of the condoms in her bra – and cursing the fact that she wasn't wearing anything with pockets – Elena knelt down on the floor and tried to insert a fingernail in the gap. Damn, why did these packets have to be so slippery? It was like trying to hook out a piece of overcooked spaghetti, and the more often it slid back down into the gap, the more her hands shook. She took a deep calming breath, leaning over to try one more –

"Elena, what are you _doing_?"

* * *

><p>AN: How Elena fell pregnant actually happened to a friend of mine, and I hope you found it as amusing as all our friends do... well, after the shock had worn off, obviously! Next chapter, they sort it all out, and I hope you all enjoy the pay off we've been waiting for! As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, not going to say too much here, because this chapter is HUGE so, as always, I hope you enjoy it, and please review!

* * *

><p>"Elena, what are you <em>doing<em>?

Elena froze, one hand reaching out to the floor, the other holding her hair back from her face. Damon had a point; what _was_ she doing? She had never felt so ridiculous in her life. Maybe it was all the raging baby hormones.

"Did you drop something?"

"Um... uh..." It was no good; he was crossing the room now.

Damon paused as he gazed down at the scene before him, one eyebrow raised in mild amusement. Leaning down, he reached over and plucked the condom packet out of the gap on his first try.

Typical.

"Right. Thanks." Elena snatched it out of his hand and jumped up from the floor. "Sorry. Allie kind of attacked me, and it flew out of my pocket, and I couldn't just leave it there..."

Damon frowned. "It flew out of your pocket?"

"Uh-huh."

"Which pocket?"

Well, shit. Elena belatedly realised that nothing she was wearing had pockets. As she cast her mind around in desperation, Damon raised a hand signalling that he'd be back in a moment. Returning from the master bedroom an uncomfortable minute later, he said, "How strange, I could have sworn I had a box of condoms in my bedside drawer. But the box is empty. They've all gone."

Elena's mouth had gone as dry as sand. Okay, here was her chance to come clean, to explain everything, to tell Damon that she was pregnant...

"What's that noise?" Damon was listening intently.

Super-aware of the rapid rise and fall of her rib cage as she tried not to pass out, Elena whispered, "My breathing."

"That crackly sound."

"I can't hear it." She tried to stop breathing completely, horror washing over her.

Damon's head cocked to one side as his gaze fixed on her chest. "One side of you has gone a funny shape."

Elena looked down. Her right breast was smooth and normal looking. The left one resembled a Christmas stocking. It looked as if... well, almost as if she'd shoved a handful of wrapped condoms into her bra. Slowly she reached into the deep V-neck of her top, scooped out the offending packets and handed them over.

Damon gave her an odd look, and she couldn't really blame him, it was an odd situation. "I don't get it. Can't you just go to a shop and buy your own? Or ask Matt to do it?"

Frowning slightly at the mention of Matt, Elena took a deep breath. Now was definitely, definitely the time to tell him. Flustered and searching for a way to begin – should she just blurt it out? Spell it out chronologically? – Elena took a step towards him. "Look, I can explain, there's a reason for... for..."

"Carry on," Damon prompted when her voice trailed away.

But it was no good. From where she was now standing, Elena could see down into the courtyard, and had just seen the car pull into the parking lot. She shook her head. "Katherine's back."

He heaved a sigh and looked down at the condoms in his hand. "I'd better go put these back."

Elena braced herself; she'd endured this much embarrassment already, what harm could a bit more do? Clearing her throat as Damon turned away, she said, "Could I have one?"

He stopped. "Excuse me?"

_You heard. Bastard._ Could you just... let me have one? I'll pay you back."

"Sure one's enough?" There was a definite snarky edge to his voice.

What the hell. "Better make it two." Oh God, what kind of a conversation was this to be having with the father of your unborn child?

Without another word Damon dropped two condoms into her outstretched hand before heading back into the bedroom. He re-emerged just as Katherine opened the door. Having shoved the condom packets back into her bra – one on each side this time – Elena tried to ease the redness in her cheeks and smile at Katherine as she entered the living room. "Hi! You've had your hair done! It looks great!"

"I know." Katherine smugly shook back her dark glossy locks. "What are you doing here?"

Well, I _was_ about to tell Damon that I'm having his baby.

Elena briefly imagined the satisfaction from saying that out loud, but she decided against it. "I needed to discuss next week's shifts with Damon."

"Thrilling." Losing interest, Katherine waved her armful of shopping bags at Damon. "Hon, wait until you've seen what I've bought, I've had such a nice day! Where's Millie?"

"Dana's taken her out in the buggy for a couple of hours. We've been pretty busy today."

Elena caught the guilt inducing tone Damon had used, but it went completely over Katherine's head. "Great, maybe she'd like to babysit this weekend. My friend Emily has invited me to stay for a couple of days." He hair swinging some more, Katherine dumped the bags on the floor and began rummaging through them. "And I picked up a gorgeous shirt for you... hang on, it's in here somewhere..."

Sensing her chance at escape, Elena mumbled her excuses and fled the apartment, rolling her eyes at the cold stare she received from Damon on her way out.

* * *

><p>"There you are! Did you do it?"<p>

Caroline was sitting on Elena's porch, waiting for her to come home. Elena nodded, deciding against telling her best friend about the ridiculous time she had just experienced. They went quickly inside, heading straight for the kitchen. They plonked themselves down on a stool, then each grabbed a condom and held it to the light.

"Three holes," Caroline announced.

"Four in this one." The needle marks were practically invisible to the naked eye but you could just feel them if you ran your fingertips over the plasticised foil. And concentrated hard. No wonder Damon hadn't noticed.

"So that's it. Now you know."

"Katherine got me pregnant." Elena made a face. "Sounds like something you'd go on Jerry Springer for."

"_Anyway,_" said Caroline, an air of smugness about her suddenly. "You haven't heard the other thing yet."

"What other thing?" Elena was tired. All she wanted to do was crawl inside a tub of Ben and Jerry's and stay in there for a week. Actually, ice cream sounded really good right about now. And garlic bread. With ice cream smeared on top.

"Remember what I said on the phone? There were two things I found out, but you cut me off before I could tell you the other one." Caroline waved two fingers in front of Elena's face. "Katherine is going to Atlanta this weekend."

"I know. I was there when she told Damon. She's going to see her friend Emily."

"Hmm." Caroline threw the condom packets into the fruit bowl and picked up an apple, turning it round and round between her perfectly manicured fingernails. "I was there when she arranged it. And I'm telling you now, if that was a girl she was speaking to on the phone," She bit into the piece of fruit, "I'm a cucumber."

* * *

><p>It was another hectic night in the restaurant. Elena hadn't meant to say it this evening, but she had finally lost her temper. Damon had spent the last two hours being very distant with her and shooting her cold looks from across the dining room. It was both hurtful and infuriating. When her pen ran out and she went through to the office to pick up another, he stopped her in the corridor on the way back.<p>

"Sorry, we don't keep extra supplies of condoms in this office." If his mood had been better the comment could have sounded light hearted, playful even. But it wasn't, so it didn't.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Elena held up the new pen. "My pen ran out. The old one's in the waste basket if you want to check. And I've already said sorry about yesterday." She took a deep breath. "Look, I still need to explain..."

Damon's jaw was clenched so hard she could see the muscle jumping. "No need." He finally ground out. "But as far as I'm concerned you're making a massive mistake."

"Am I?" Elena didn't have a clue what he meant, but it was clearly not a compliment. Fury bubbled up inside her as she thought about the current monumental mistake _he _was currently making with his life. "Well, maybe I'm not the only one. Because I'd double check who Katherine's seeing this weekend if I were you."

Damon stood there, motionless. "What?"

"You heard." Elena knew instantly that this wasn't the best way to go about things, but to be honest she was getting pretty fed up with him behaving this way, so she didn't stop. She couldn't.

"What makes you say that?"

"Ask Katherine."Elena raised an eyebrow at him and stalked past him back into the dining room. She noticed her hands were shaking slightly. Great, now he was probably going to accuse Katherine of seeing someone else. She would deny it, and without any evidence, it was Katherine's word against hers. She might be seen to just be trying to spread vicious lies. Elena sighed. There was nothing she could do about it now. She braced herself and threw herself back into her work.

Waitressing was like show business; you had to smile smile smile.

* * *

><p>Katherine had just had a long luxurious bath and was wrapped in a turquoise robe, painting her toenails shell-pink. When Damon entered the living room she looked up and smiled. "Hi, hon. Millie's asleep. What are you doing back so early?"<p>

She was beautiful, Damon thought dispassionately. Any man would lust after her. But if what Elena had just suggested was true, it would be the best news he'd heard in months.

"I've been working too hard. Time for a break," said Damon. "We'll go to Atlanta together this weekend. I've already booked a suite at that hotel you like."

For a second there was silence.

"Oh, Damon, I would have loved that." Katherine was filled with regret. "But I can't. I promised Emily I would stay with her. The thing is – and this is top secret – she's just had a facelift and looks a complete mess. I'm just going along to cheer her up and take her mind off the fact that she looks like Frankenstein's ugly sister."

"Right." Damon held her gaze, the confident, unwavering gaze of a woman who could lie about the paternity of her child and not let it trouble her.

"But some other time," Katherine smiled brightly up at him. "Definitely. In fact, how about next weekend? Then we can – what are you _doing?_"

"Borrowing your phone. That's all right, isn't it?" Damon scooped up the tiny cell phone that Katherine never let out of her sight and began scrolling through the list of names. "Ah, here we go..."

"That's _my_ phone!" Katherine jumped up off the sofa and lunged for him. "Look, you can't just –"

"Emily? Hi, this is Damon Salvatore. How are you? Listen, I know this might be short notice, but I was just ringing round all of Katherine's friends to see who might be able to make it for a surprise party for her this weekend." He paused, and Katherine stood there, looking stricken. "Well, that's great news," he handed over the phone to Katherine. "You can speak to her now. Emily says she can't wait to come."

* * *

><p>Elena jumped a mile and almost dropped the plates of raspberry cheesecake she was holding when Katherine burst into the restaurant. She was wearing jeans and a white top, looking as though she had got dressed in a hurry, as she stood in the middle of the restaurant, scanning the room. She had a face like thunder and was eyeing each table in turn.<p>

Becky walked over to her, raising her eyebrows at Elena. "Are you looking for someone?"

"I'm seeing who's here." She bit the words off, not stopping her intake of all the customers and staff. "Damon wouldn't tell me, but it has to be someone in this restaurant. You won't _believe_ what they've just done to me, some petty, spiteful... jealous..." Her eyes came to rest on Elena and her voice trailed away. "Or maybe you would believe it. Fucking hell, what is going on here? You know exactly what I'm talking about don't you? Who told Damon?"

Katherine stalked towards her, but Elena held her ground. She was just about done with this. Lifting her chin defiantly, she said, "I did."

"You! _How_? My God, I might have guessed. You interfering bitch." Katherine's voice rose and her face pinched together. "Let me guess, you were jealous because I have Damon and you don't have a man of your own. You can't bear to see other people happy so you have to stir up trouble by poisoning their minds!"

Elena's eyebrows rose at the audacity of the girl in front of her. Levelly, she said, "I didn't lie."

Katherine's upper lip curled, showing catlike incisors. "If you think this will be enough to get him to notice you, you've got another –"

"Right, that's enough." Becky tried to usher Katherine out of the restaurant. "You're upset, let me take you back to –"

"No!" Katherine screamed, wrenching free. She grabbed a carafe of white wine from the nearest table, spun around and threw the contents straight at Elena. "You bitch, you've ruined my life!"

Everyone in the restaurant gasped. For the second time in five minutes, Elena nearly dropped the cheesecakes she was still holding. Blinking wine out of her eyes, she glanced down and saw that the desserts were swimming in white wine, and were now ruined. Oh well, waste not, want not...

"Arghhh!" Katherine screamed as she leapt back. Clearly not expecting a mere waitress to retaliate, she stared down in horror at the bright pink gunge dripping down the front of her white top and jeans.

"It's not your day today, is it?" Elena raised an eyebrow at her. "First your life is ruined, then your outfit."

Incandescent with rage, Katherine tried to step forward, but Becky grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her out. She stamped her foot and let out an ear-splitting howl of rage. At various tables people began to whisper and giggle.

The husband of the couple who had ordered the cheesecake looked at Elena and said tentatively, "Were those ours?"

Elena smiled down at him, feeling an enormous amount of relief. "Yes, and I'm so sorry, there aren't any more left. But I can really recommend the chocolate torte."

With that, she strode back into the kitchen, threw down the plates and went to the staff room to change.

* * *

><p>By the time Elena had driven home, the adrenaline had worn off and her heart had started pounding painfully hard in her chest. She had sent Caroline a text on the way out of the restaurant, and she had never been so pleased to see her friend's car sitting outside her house. She fell out of the car door, and found herself wrapped in the blonde's embrace, as they walked into the house.<p>

Elena was incapable of sitting down. She paced the length of the kitchen, replaying the showdown at the restaurant. Finally she finished and slumped against the kitchen counter. "That's it. I've lost my job, not that I really wanted to continue working there. I think I'm just going to move to California with Jeremy."

"Sit down. Calm down. So he _still_ doesn't know you're pregnant." Banging kitchen cupboard doors open and shut, Caroline let out a frustrated growl. "For God's sake, I'm trying to get you something to drink and all I can find is hot chocolate." She took down the tin and gave it a shake. "You can't leave the state, 'Lena."

"Elena opened her mouth to speak, but the phone burst to life suddenly, her stomach lurching. Oh God, all this stress couldn't be good for the baby.

"Don't answer it if you don't want to," Caroline said soothingly.

Elena glanced at the screen. Jenna.

"Hey Aunt Jenna, how are you?"

"I have great news!" Jenna's excited voice came down the line.

"Really? What?" Elena was trying to concentrate, but it was a struggle.

"I'm moving in with Ric! I'm going to be living in Mystic Falls!" Elena could practically hear the woman jumping up and down.

"That's great news, Jenna, I'm so pleased for you."

"Are you okay? You seem a little down," Jenna's tone changed as she listened to her niece. "Do you need me to come over? To talk about something? Is it that guy you were dating, what was his name, Henry?"

Elena tried to sound more upbeat for her aunt. "What? Oh, no, that ended a while ago, which I'm fine with. It was just a long day at work today, that's all."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Caroline's here. She's just pouring me a drink."

"Let me guess, a nice big glass of chilled wine?"

Elena looked over at Caroline, who was frowning down into the mug, trying to stir clumps of cocoa powder into microwaved hot milk. "You could say that."

"Okay then hon, I'll leave you to it. Talk soon though, okay?"

"Sure."

"That's someone else you're going to have to tell before the baby pops out," Caroline said as Elena replaced the phone.

"I know, don't keep on." Elena put down the mug of chocolate, which looked disgusting.

"It feels like we're waiting for the world to end. You'd think somebody would have called by now, even if it was just to tell you you're fired."

"If Katherine calls, it'll be to tell me I'm dead." A kind of hysteria took over Elena, and she giggled slightly. "Maybe she'll call the police and have me arrested for assault with a deadly dessert." She sobered up almost immediately and put her head in her hands. "What if it was a mistake? What if she wasn't planning on cheating on Damon? What if –"

The sound of the doorbell cut her off, and they both jumped in their seats.

"I'll go and see who it is."

"No," Elena shook her head. "I need to deal with this myself."

Her heart sped up again when she saw Damon on the doorstep, who clearly wasn't in the mood to waste time.

"Can I come in?" Already through the door before Elena could reply, he stopped dead when he saw Caroline. Brusquely, he said, "Could you leave us?"

"No I couldn't."

"Caroline," Elena nodded her head in the direction of the door. "Please."

"Please what?"

"Go home."

"Are you kidding?"

"Out," said Damon.

"Fine," Caroline huffed, mouthing 'tell him' at Elena as she passed her.

Elena took a deep breath. "I'm not sorry about the cheesecake thing, so don't expect me to apologise for that. And I'm leaving the restaurant, which saves you from having to fire me."

"I wasn't planning on firing you," Damon said, running his hand through his hair. "You don't have to leave."

Ha, he didn't know the half of it.

"I'm still going to." Her fingernails dug into her clenched palms. It was the only way. Far better that he didn't find out the truth.

"It's all over, by the way. They've left." She could feel his eyes scanning her face, and she kept her gaze averted. "Katherine and Millie."

Elena nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Damon said evenly. "It was always going to happen. I wanted it to work, for Millie, but that's no way to live. Katherine wasn't the one who left Stefan, by the way, before she arrived back down here. Apparently he wanted to keep his daughter and look after her himself, without her. She's been angling to get together with one of his friends for weeks, which was who she was going to see this weekend." Looking down at Elena, he said, "She still doesn't know how you found out."

"Caroline. She was at the hair salon at the same time as Katherine. She heard her organise it over the phone." Elena still didn't look at him.

"Anyway, they're gone. I don't suppose I'll be seeing them again."

Finally Elena glanced up at him. "But you could if you wanted to."

Damon shook his head. "It's not up to me anymore. My brother will take care of Millie, so it's nothing to do with me. If I'm honest, it was a relief. I was looking for a way out. And for Millie's sake, it's better that it happens sooner rather than later."

Elena's stomach was in knots.

_Tell him you're pregnant._

I can't, I can't do it.

_Just_ tell_ him._

I really can't. Especially not after everything that's happened tonight.

"She tried to make him feel better. "Sometimes, you have to give people another chance. Just to see if what you had was really worth trying to fix. Sometimes people change enough for it to work, but sometimes they don't."

Damon looked at her for a moment; he seemed almost angry. "What about Matt?" He asked finally. "Has he changed?"

Elena looked at him, confused as to why he had brought Matt into the conversation. "Well, he tells me he has," she replied slowly.

"Do you believe him?"

Thinking he was just looking for reassurance that trying to believe Katherine hadn't been a mistake, Elena shrugged. "I want to believe it. I guess we'll see."

Damon looked at her as though there was plenty more he had to say, but then his jaw clenched. "Right." Abruptly Damon said, "Well, good luck."

"Th-thanks." That was it then. Resignation accepted. She wasn't going back to work.

"Bye." He turned and left the house without so much as a backwards glance.

* * *

><p>Elena shuddered once, then sighed and went into the kitchen, slumping down on one of the stools.<p>

She picked up the phone, about to call Caroline, but she heard the front door open again. Assuming that Caroline had waited outside for Damon to leave, she swivelled round on her stool and opened her mouth to speak.

"You're mad. I can't believe you're being so gullible."

"What?"

"Matt." The look Damon gave her was fierce; fire burned through his ice blue eyes. "He's going to break your heart."

Elena frowned and stood up. "Not _my _heart. What are you talking about?"

Damon's eyes widened in shock. "So, you're not back together with Matt?"

Elena's eyebrows flew up in disbelief. "For fuck's sake, no! That ship sailed a long time ago, thank you very much, and unless I've suffered a recent brain injury, I'm never going there again!"

"I thought... when I came over to see you, Matt was here. He was wearing your dressing gown. He said you were going out to dinner."

"He was here seeing Bonnie! He used her shower and must have grabbed my robe to answer the door. We all went out to dinner together."

"I can't believe I got that wrong." Shaking his head, Damon asked, "So, do you think it'll work out then, him and Bonnie?"

"I doubt it. They're really good together, but Matt's never going to change. I think he just needs to get her out of his system, and then he'll be back to normal." Elena really had no idea why they were talking about this, but at least he wasn't yelling at her any more. Much more of that, and she'd have smacked him.

There was a long pause. Finally Damon said, "Not necessarily."

"What?"

"Sleeping with someone doesn't always get them out of your system."

"Why not?" Elena felt herself flushing under the intensity of Damon's gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I slept with you and didn't get you out of my system."

Elena felt as though all the wind had been knocked out of her. _What did he just say?_

"Sorry, you did ask." Damon raked his fingers through his hair. "And I know you only wanted a one night thing, but I haven't been able to forget it. At all. I couldn't say anything before, and I probably shouldn't be saying anything now, but I just... I just needed you to know how I feel about you. It's how I've been feeling ever since that night."

Seconds passed that felt like hours. Finally, Elena managed to whisper, "Me too."

It was Damon's turn to look stunned. "Really?"

Elena nodded, and suddenly she was in his arms as he stepped up to her. He held her face in his hands and kissed her, and she'd never felt so alive or so terrified. Pulling away, Elena blinked back the tears threatening to spill and said, "There's something else I have to tell you."

Damon wasn't in the mood to take her seriously. Trailing kisses down her neck, he whispered aginst her skin, "Can it wait until morning?"

Elena shook her head, pushing him back slightly until she could look into his eyes. "I didn't mean it to happen."

"Didn't mean what?"

Her courage failed. "I can't tell you."

_Yes you can._

No I can't, can't, _can't._

But you _must._

"Okay," Damon said, cupping her face in his hands and looking into her eyes. "Is it good or bad?"

"I don't know."

"I love you. Does that help at all?"

Tears finally made their way past Elena's eyelashes, and Damon smoothed them away with the pads of his thumbs. "I'm pregnant."

Damon was motionless. "You are?"

"Yes." Realising what he must be thinking, Elena suddenly burst out, "And it's yours, I swear. I haven't been with anyone else, not for ages. I'm sorry!"

Damon smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Don't apologise. I'm glad you haven't slept with anyone else." Glancing to her stomach, he asked, "Is everything okay?"

"With the baby? Yes, I went to the doctor last week."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

Elena shook her head. "No. I was going to move to California. Until this afternoon you had a family."

Damon pulled her closer to him, shaking his head. "I had a child who wasn't mine and a girlfriend I didn't love." His gaze softened. "Even worse, I was in love with someone who worked for me, but couldn't tell her because she was back with her ex-boyfriend... hang on, what was all that with the condoms?"

Finally, a question she could answer. The two she and Caroline had been examining earlier were still in the fruit bowl. Reaching over and grabbing them, Elena handed them to him. "Katherine wanted another baby last year but you weren't so keen. So she stuck a needle through every packet in the box."

Damon ran his fingers over the packets in his hand, before throwing them back in the bowl. "Just as well it didn't work."

"Except it did. Right result, wrong womb."

"Are you kidding? For the first time in her life, Katherine did something that actually turned out well. This might be the happiest day of my life. In fact," he picked her up and placed her on the edge of the counter, standing between her legs. "I think we should celebrate." He leaned in and kissed her neck, nibbling on her earlobe.

"I should call Caroline. She'll be wondering what's going on." Elena gripped his waist with her thighs and pushed her fingers through his hair.

"Caroline's a grown up, I'm sure she can wait until tomorrow." His fingers slid under the hem of her top, tracing circles over her ribcage.

"You obviously don't know Caroline well enough."

Just as she said that, the phone on the counter started to ring. Elena reached out, but Damon beat her to it, answering the call.

Caroline's voice chattered down the line, her agitation obvious. "I saw him leave and then go back in. So now you're either having sex with him or you've killed him and you need me to help you bury the body."

"Well done," Damon said. "Your first guess was correct."

"Aaahhhhhh!"

"Thanks. We think so too. So we'd appreciate it if you didn't come rushing back in here, because Elena and I are going upstairs now."

Grinning, Elena snatched the phone. "And we may be gone for some time." She ended the call and dropped the phone on the counter, leaning in for another kiss. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked them towards the stairs. When they got to her room, he laid her down on the bed and leaned over her, stroking his hand down her cheek.

"I love you Elena."

She smiled up at him. "And I love you."

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><p>AN: Just the epilogue to go now!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I thought I'd address a few of your questions and comments here, especially for the people that I can't reply to through the reply button – it only works for some people? Not sure why that is. Anyway, in this story, Elena is struggling to find herself after immersing herself in the one job of raising Jeremy, and she needed time to work out the type of person she wanted to be. Throughout the story, she becomes stronger, her swearing gets worse, her temper gets quicker, and her confidence grows, both in herself, and in her ability to raise her brother. Damon, in turn, was broken, and he needed time to come to terms with the fact that what he had and subsequently lost, wasn't actually what he really needed. They were both dealing with insecurities, and so took the misunderstandings at face value, instead of digging deeper to find out the truth. Until finally Damon manned up and took the plunge. I felt it was necessary to do it this way, because Elena had been so strong for him, it was time for him to step up and take a turn. I hope this helps a few of you who were struggling with this story, to understand where I was coming from with this story. And now for the – extremely short – epilogue!

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><p><em>6 Months Later.<em>

The sun was blazing down, and Elena felt her whole body relax in relief as she entered the air conditioned airport. Her mind flew back to this time last year, when she had been an emotional wreck, standing in this very spot. Then she blinked hard, because although mentally she was much more prepared to let go this time, hormonally any excuse for a good cry and she was off. She'd actually sobbed for just over an hour last night when she dropped a mug in the sink. She hadn't even broken it.

Luckily, distraction was at hand.

"Jer, where is your ticket?" Matt was busy running his hand through the front pocket of her brother's flight bag.

"Relax, man, it's in my jeans pocket." Jeremy pulled it out and waved it in Matt's face. "Dude, you need to calm down, Bonnie's neuroses are starting to rub off on you." Jeremy grinned and dodged out of the way as Matt made a move to smack him round the back of the head.

Jeremy's phone rang, and he pulled it out, a goofy smile lighting up his face as he checked the screen. "Hey! Did you arrive yet? What's the place like?"

Elena smiled. _Anna._ Jeremy and his girlfriend had spent pretty much the whole summer together, before Anna had finally had to go home and spend some time with her mother. The couple had decided to rent an apartment together, close to the university. Jeremy had managed to find himself a job waiting tables, and Anna had started working part time at the library. Elena was glad they were settling down in California, but she hoped it wouldn't be permanent. She couldn't think of anything better than to have all of her family members living in Mystic Falls.

"Elena? Is that you?"

Swinging round, Elena came face to face with a pretty dark haired girl, standing in front of her wearing a large smile.

"Lindsay?" Elena greeted her old high school friend with a returning smile. "Oh my God, how are you? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Well, I live in New York now, I stayed there after I finished college. I'm just here visiting the family for a couple of weeks." Elena lifted her arm to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and her coat opened slightly. Lindsay's eyes bulged as she looked down at Elena's stomach. "Wow, you're pregnant?"

"Seven months," Elena ran a hand protectively over her swollen belly, as Matt came up behind her.

Lindsay smiled at him. "I see you too managed to stay together after school."

Matt looked down at Elena's stomach, winking at her privately. "Jesus! Where the hell did that come from? It certainly isn't mine!" He said indignantly.

Lindsay's eyes widened even more as she took in the scene before her. Before she could speak her confusion, Bonnie walked up to the little group.

"Matt, we need to be going soon, the movers will be coming to Elena's to get our stuff in a couple of hours." She ran her hand lovingly up his arm, and Lindsay's expression got more and more confused.

"I don't... I don't understand," Lindsay muttered finally.

"Shall I explain?" The velvety voice that still caused shivers to run up and down Elena's spine came over her shoulder, as Damon put his hand around her waist. "Matt and Elena broke up a long time ago. Bonnie has been Elena's roommate, but now she and Matt are moving in together. The baby is mine," he laid his hand on the large bump, "and Elena has agreed to marry me after the baby is born." He placed a tender kiss at her temple.

"Um, wow. Congratulations!" Lindsay was busy staring in shock at Damon.

As the baby kicked inside her, Elena heard the announcement for Jeremy's flight to start boarding.

"How did you two meet?" Lindsay asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Damon.

Damon's arm squeezed Elena, his eyes shining as he stared down into hers. He smirked slightly. "Actually, I caught her shoplifting."

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><p>AN: So, that's it! I have loved writing this story, and I have loved reading all of your reviews. In my opinion, great entertainment is supposed to bring out extreme reactions and emotions in people, so I feel as if I may have done something right! I hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope you'll join me for another journey soon.

Hugs, Lauren x


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